


She-Ra: Masters of the Universe, A Novel

by Largemovingtorb



Series: She Ra: Masters of the Universe [1]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Bad Jokes, Beautiful, Catra Kai, Drama & Romance, Drinking, Epic Battles, F/F, F/M, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Love, M/M, Multi, Origin Story, Original Character(s), Other, Outer Space, Personal Growth, Plot Twists, References to Depression, Singing, Unofficial Sequel, Unrequited Love, Visions, Weddings, Yoga
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:47:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 54,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26713198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Largemovingtorb/pseuds/Largemovingtorb
Summary: A year after the Battle of Etheria, much has change and much as stayed the same. Our heros take their first steps into the wider galaxy to "bring magic to the universe." Their journey takes them to a strange First One's temple, there they unknowingly make themselves known to an ancient evil enemy. They soon face The Outcast, a demon-possessed assassin sent to eradicate the only woman strong enough to stand in the way of a galactic conquest. Adora, Catra, Glimmer and Bow again find themselves fighting against an implacable enemy, their fight taking them taking them from Etheria, to the very stars, and even farther…
Relationships: Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra), Castaspella/Juliet (She-Ra), Entrapta/Hordak (She-Ra), Netossa/Spinnerella (She-Ra), Perfuma/Scorpia (She-Ra)
Series: She Ra: Masters of the Universe [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1944052
Comments: 11
Kudos: 43





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> These are the first 9 chapters of a 26 chapter novel. For more information you can visit my website below.
> 
> Official website - www.largemovingtorb.com
> 
> Cover done on commission by https://linktr.ee/YoritomoDaishogun

**She-Ra:**

**Masters of the Universe**

**By: Largemovingtorb**

**Prologue**

It’s been one year since the battle of Etheria, and the end of Horde Prime’s oppressive reign over the universe.

Etheria has become wilder and more beautiful with the release of a thousand years’ worth of magical energy. It has also become a little more dangerous since the magical energy cannot, and will not, be controlled, as if being contained for so long has made it resistant to the possibility of being yoked again. Some of the new phenomena that have appeared are beautiful, and strange aurora-borealis appear one moment, only to be replaced by balls of fire-lighting. Amazing, new animal forms have also appeared, although many suspect that they have always been on Etheria, hibernating and waiting for the magic to be released.

Adora, Catra, Bow and Glimmer did not immediately leave on their road-trip around the universe, as there were too many problems on their own planet to focus on before taking such a journey. Even before the dust had settled, there were cries for justice, justice for the level of destruction caused and for the members of the Horde to be punished. Since Horde Prime was gone, there was only Etheria’s Horde to take the brunt, plus whatever clones managed to survive.

As Queen of Etheria, Glimmer had to listen to her people and a tribunal was put together. Hordak, Catra, Entrapta and the Force Captains, including Scorpia— for she was a Force Captain for many years before defecting— were held at Bright Moon while the trial proceeded. 

Since they all could not be held in the spare bedroom, an extension was added to Bright Moon, close to the guard quarters. Even with the added room, many of the prisoners still had to share rooms, leading to Entrapta, Scorpia and Catra bunking together. This worked out in the end, for it gave the woman a chance to catch up and heal old wounds; the last time they were together was under the banner of the Horde. Many hours of “quality time” were spent hanging out and playing board-games, much to Scorpia’s delight.

Catra even had a chance to talk to Hordak, apologizing for deceiving him into thinking Entrapta betrayed them. Hordak, true to his nature, grunted something back, including a barely distinguishable apology, then clearly stated to Catra that she was the most effective second he ever had.

The trial took a month, where much evidence was presented and extenuating circumstances were considered. For many of the ex-Horde leaders, this was the first time they were really made to face what they had done, which was a sobering experience for them.

Adora, Bow and Queen Glimmer herself spoke up on Catra, Scorpia and Entrapta’s behalf, but in the end, they were all found guilty of their crimes. Since the concept of capital punishment and long-term imprisonment did not exist on Etheria, another sentence was doled out. In the grand hall of Bright Moon, the convicted were made to swear a mighty oath, one that bound them to forever work toward the betterment of the people of Etheria, to fight for good wherever it may exist, and to forever work on their personal improvement, for to be there for others they must first be there for themselves. This they did gladly with the Royal Advisor and father to the Queen, Micah, using a truth spell; their oaths were shown to be true and sound. Adora was at Catra’s side the whole time, holding her hand while she recited the Oath. Perfuma was there for Scorpia as well, while Hordak and Entrapta had each other. 

As the leader of the Horde, it was decided that Hordak needed his own special punishment on top of swearing the Oath. He was to remain in the Kingdom of Dryle, swearing never to leave its borders and to use his knowledge and skill to develop technology for the betterment of Etherian-kind. Hordak had no issue with this and relished his new role in life. The fact that it was to stay in Entrapta’s home was an extra special bonus for the old villain. He always was more comfortable in his laboratory working on projects; his drive to conquer was only a manifestation of his need to prove his worthiness to his brother. When Catra heard this, she quipped that it was perfect for ol’ shut-in Hordak. 

The Horde soldiers as a whole did not participate in the trial, but instead, in re-education and re-building projects around Etheria. After their period of service was over, many of them joined the royal guards of the different Princess realms or the burgeoning Etherian Star Force. Many of Horde Prime’s ships were salvaged and put to use for good, and crews were needed to fill them. With their life-long experience in the regiment, Horde soldiers made good Naval candidates— it was a perfect match. Much was the same for the clones. Many of them did not know anything else other than service, so the transition was an easy one. With the question of justice resolved, the true healing could begin. 

Adora’s powers as She-Ra have increased after the destruction of the heart of Etheria. Her strength and physical prowess have stayed much the same but her magical abilities have strengthened. This was fortuitous since Etheria and its people needed She-Ra’s healing energy. Along with “The Best Friend’s Squad” and the Princess Alliance, Adora spent the rest of her time after the Trial traveling Etheria to help re-establish harmony. 

Adora’s appearance hadn’t changed much. Since Queen Glimmer had named her “Protector of the Realm,” Adora replaced her old red Force Captains jacket with a light blue jacket with purple shoulder trim. Along with her white shirt, it was a color scheme that mimicked the bright moon guards. Much to the chagrin of Catra and the others, she still kept her hair in a high ponytail with her bangs swept back in a distinctive poof, but when not on duty she was known to let her hair down. 

Her She-Ra form is much the same as it was a year ago, but somehow more potent with the infusion of more magical energy. It was the same white pants sleeveless tunic with gold shoulder armor and trim. Her new She-Ra form had incorporated elements of the people closest to her; there were the wing emblems on her upper thighs representing Glimmer, her gold shoulder pads formed a heart just above her chest representing Bow, and her golden tiara now wrapped around her face, much like Catra’s mask did before it.

The heart rune on her breast has remained, appearing when touched and fading away when the touch was gone. It does not serve any purpose other than as a reminder of her greatest strength, love; love for herself, for her friends, her world, and not least of all, love for Catra. Adora’s past insecurities concerning her role and destiny as She-Ra have disappeared. In their place, she has been filled with confidence about her place in the universe as a protector and healer.

Catra still had a long way to go since her defection from the Horde. With her breakdown, then being mind-controlled by Horde Prime, Catra was left broken and unsure of herself, and had lost much of her confidence. If not for her love for Adora and the fact it was reciprocated at the end of the Battle for Etheria, Catra’s future would have been very grim. In her fragile state, there were many paths Catra could have taken, most of them ending in disappointment.

After the Trial and the Taking of the Oath, Catra travelled Etheria with Adora and the rest of the gang, helping to rebuild wherever they could. This experience gave Catra an up-close view of the destruction the Horde caused— not just Prime’s Horde, but Catra’s Horde as well. Seeing the oppression and pain she caused almost drove Catra back into herself, but Adora and her new friends kept her from unravelling.

After a while, the act of helping others acted as a much-needed catharsis for Catra, who started to forgive herself, coming to terms with her guilt. After almost a year of this, much of Catra’s confidence had returned. The bold, strong woman who clawed her way to the top of Etheria’s Horde by will and strength returned, tempered by compassion, love, and a touch of humility. 

She still had issues with anger and sadness, issues that she agreed to work on, going as far as to participate in Perfuma’s “group therapy” sessions. More often than not, Catra made it through these sessions but was known to blow up and storm out. Those outbursts were decreasing with time and a lot of patience on Perfuma’s part. 

Catra has grown her hair out, even allowing the brown tufts under her ears to come back, the same tufts she cut off after Shadow Weaver caressed them, believing them to be a tool for others to manipulate her. By letting them grow back, Catra, in her own way, showed that she is ready to open her heart and trust others again, something she would never admit, even to herself, for now.

Catra continued to wear her usual outfit of a maroon leotard, black collar around her neck and shoulders, and black and burgundy leggings. When she is expected in battle, she wears a new gold headpiece. It is almost an exact replica of the one She-Ra now wears, except the portion that encompasses her face is rounder, not as sharply angled as her old headpiece. The back is open to allow her wild mane to flow behind her, the feel of it whipping behind her as she struck down her enemies as exciting as it was when she fought for the Horde. Except now, these enemies were the enemies of She-Ra, Bright Moon, Etheria and everything good in the universe.

The bond between Catra and the magical being Melog still exists, for it is a lifelong bond. Melog continued to accompany Catra on missions, to add their magical abilities to the cause. When they are separated over great distances, Catra is able to call Melog through their bond and ask for her friend’s assistance. It is not a command, but Melog always responds. Their bond aside, Melog is not Catra’s pet. They are a conscious, intelligent being with a will of their own. When not needed, they spend a great deal of their time deep in the Whispering Woods, where the magic is strongest. Melog does not speak of what they do there, and Catra never asks, respecting her friend’s privacy. There are tales told among denizens of the Whispering Woods, tales of strange and ethereal humanoid beings spotted deep in the Whispering Woods. The love between the friends was great, and at least once a week, the two met to run through the Whispering Woods together, both on all fours.

In a short timespan, Glimmer had become Queen of Bright Moon, and after a unanimous vote by the rest of the Princesses, Queen of Etheria. A great burden was thrown on Glimmer’s small shoulders, having to decide what to do with the Horde prisoners, and rebuilding was very taxing for her. Glimmer’s shoulders were strong though, and with her friends and newfound father-turned Chief Court advisor, she overcame these obstacles. Glimmer took to the re-building of Etheria with zeal, leading from the front and out in the field, just as she did in battle. The people of Etheria were able to see their beautiful and strong Queen up close, and their love for her grew immensely. 

The return of her father Micah was an unexpected surprise for Glimmer. She was eager to get to know the man she only knew from old stories and whose face she only knew from the mural in the council room. During the Trial and Re-building, Micah was at his daughter’s side and the bonds they formed were strong. Micah, with his immense magical power and arcane knowledge, also began to further instruct and tutor his daughter in more advanced magic. Glimmer’s magical powers grew, although they were at their strongest on Etheria, close to the Moonstone. Only when magic had been brought back to the universe could she truly bring her powers to distant worlds. This was the task she focused her talent on next.

Glimmer looked much the same as when Horde Prime was defeated, for she had no time to think about any kind of make-over, too busy with her role as Queen as Etheria. The only addition was the crown of office she wore when holding court.

Bow continued to be the glue that holds the Friendship Squad together, always quick to add levity and to act as counselor when his friends squabbled. His role was in great demand during the Trial and Re-building, and he was constantly on call when the weight seemed too great, tears started flowing, or yelling matches began. 

Bow honed his skill with his weapon of choice— the bow, the string Netossa so carelessly added actually making his shots more powerful. Bow even started working more on his close-quartered combat skills, skills that come in handy when enemies are too close for an archer. Bow had approached Catra and asked her to try and teach him some of her martial arts, a skill that came so naturally to her. On numerous occasions when they fought on opposing sides, Bow found himself at Catra’s mercy, narrowly escaping with many bruises and scratches; she was the perfect teacher. Catra reluctantly agreed and started off extremely skeptical of her student.

Bow took to the lessons well, having many good sessions and a few bad ones when Catra was feeling particularly merciless. Glimmer was always there at the end of the day to mend cuts, help ice the bruises and add some much-needed care. After a while, Bow was able to mimic Catra’s open-handed claw strikes, and roundhouse kicks well enough to use them in battle. He had even started telling people he knew “Cat-Fu”, however, this stopped when Catra found out and told him she would disown him as a student if he ever referred to her fighting style as “Cat-Fu'' again. Bow even earned the new nickname, “Punchy'', from Catra; an inside joke that was shared with the rest of the Best Friends Squad. 

Bow started to grow his hair out longer and experiment with facial hair, growing a fuzzy patch on his chin. His outfit remained the same with one exception— the red heart on his chest was now a heart-shaped gold chest piece in honor of She-Ra.

A year had passed, a year of struggles, learning, and growth. The issues they faced immediately after the destruction of Horde Prime had been laid to rest, and now it was time for the next chapter. It was time for their road-trip, although they were coming to understand that this challenge did not match such a flippant label. Adora, Catra, Glimmer, Bow, Entrapta, Emily and Melog boarded Darla— Adora’s spaceship she inherited from the previous She-Ra— and started their exploration of the greater universe, trying to understand what their place in it would look like and how they would bring magic to it. After coming across rumors of a First Ones temple on the planet Twilight, they decided to investigate. After all, the First Ones were experts on finding and exploiting magical fonts in the Universe, so it was a good place to start.


	2. Chapter 1:  Tentative Steps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our hero's take their first steps into a greater universe, their search brings them to the planet Twilight where they explore a strange First One's temple. In their explorations they unknowing bring themselves to the attention of an evil greater than Horde Prime.

**PART 1:**

**I was lost, so very lost, until I met you…**

**Chapter 1: Tentative Steps**

The planet Twilight was true to its name; bathed in the light of its system’s weak sun, the world’s day cycle was in perpetual twilight. Not much was known about this planet other than it was old and barren, sapped of every resource and all life. It used to be a place of strong magic, but that too was sucked almost dry by greed. It was a haunted place, offering nothing except a trading post and boundless emptiness. It was easy to find the temple when there was nothing to hide it.

“Adora, look out!!” Bow shouted.

Adora, in She-Ra form, turned and narrowly ducked as one of the temple robot elementals sliced down at her with a wicked arm blade. She parried and easily sliced the elemental neatly in two, while the second behind it was taken down by an arrow to the head.

“Thanks, Bow! Behind you!” She-Ra/Adora yelled.

Bow turned. The elemental was almost upon him, too close for him to notch an arrow and fire. Through muscle memory, he spun around, delivering a roundhouse kick that tripped the elemental. Using the downward momentum of his falling opponent, he delivered an open-clawed chop to its neck, almost severing its head. Catra’s lessons had come in pretty handy.

“Nice, Bow! I need you to hold off these guys while I focus on the group massing near the temple entrance. You got this?” She-Ra/Adora asked.

“I got your back, Adora!” Bow shouted as he delivered more arrows into a group of enemies.

She-Ra/Adora bounded off in the direction of the greatest threat. Her stride was confident as she drove into the elementals. Although She-Ra/Adora did not fight with the acrobatics and speed of Catra, her strikes were implacable and true, her skill with the sword expert level. Her fighting style might be slower but it was relentless, and the elementals were driven back before her. She disappeared from view into the mass of them; the only evidence of her presence was the occasional elemental being tossed in the air in ruins.

Bow managed to fire an arrow into a charging elemental while delivering a backwards kick into one approaching on his blind side.

“You know, I’m getting pretty good at this!” Bow exclaimed, truly proud of his handiwork.

“I’m coming in, Punchy!” Catra yelled with glee.

Bow stared as Catra soared in an upright spin, her body straight and arms held close to her front and back to increase the speed of her rotation. As she descended upon her quarry, her arms flashed out, fingers and claws extended. The centrifugal motion of her spin added power to her attack and the two robot elementals approaching Bow were sliced neatly in two. Catra landed crouched, one leg extended behind her in an extravagant bow. Dropping into a one-armed handstand, she simultaneously kicked two elementals who crumpled to the ground, their heads colliding... Catra flipped forwards, and both of her clawed feet crushed their heads into ruin.

“That’s good form, Punchy, but let Sensei Catra show you how it’s done!” Catra cried. She was feeling good and the close-quarters destruction made the primal essence in her blood sing.

“Show off!” Bow retorted, smirking.

“Am I going to have to separate you two again?” Glimmer shouted to them.

More elementals had surrounded Bow and Catra. Glimmer teleported in and out, extracting them from their encircling enemies. With her friends out of the way, Glimmer extended both arms, delivering dual beams of sparkling purple power at maximum intensity. The group of elementals close to each other made perfect targets and were instantly vaporized. 

“Whoa, Sparkles! I guess there’s some magic here for you to harness!” Catra stated, impressed.

Glimmer blew on her hands one at a time as if they were smoking guns.

“Amazing and beautiful as always!” Bow exclaimed.

Glimmer winked and blew a kiss to him.

“Ugh, get a room you two!” Catra groaned, feigning looking sick.

“AAACCCCKKK!!!” came a scream from nearby. Not too far away, the elementals were moving in on a seemingly weak Entrapta, who backed away from her attackers.

“Emileeeeee!! Help! Gahh!” Entrapta pleaded.

Entrapta’s faithful robot friend Emily charged in on four legs, emitting the equivalent of a robot war cry in the form of beeps. She extended the dual cannons she had been upgraded with and blasted the two threats closest to Entrapta into pieces. Four more elementals turned to confront the new enemy, encircling Emily. They were moving in too fast for Emily to effectively target and eliminate them before taking critical damage.

Fortunately, Emily had a new trick for them. Emily had not only been upgraded with new cannons but also with an EMP pulse specific to disabling First Ones technology. This was a recent invention and considering where their journeys would take them, a fortuitous one. She emitted the EMP blast in a wide radius, disabling the encircling robots. Unfortunately, there was a down-side of the EMP blast, and Emily shut down for a reboot period. Emily and Entrapta were now defenseless.

“Oh, my poor girl. I promise momma is gonna fix that pesky shut-down problem,” cried Entrapta, kneeling and hugging her mechanical friend, her arms and ponytails encircling Emily’s round body. Sensing weakness, more elementals moved in for the kill.

“Roooawwww!!”

Melog bounded in, quickly cloaking Entrapta and Emily with their magic. Due to the magical nature of the alien creature, Entrapta and Emily were invisible and impervious to any kind of electronic surveillance. The elementals, no longer sensing their victims, wandered off to find another quarry.

Melog had been instructed by Catra to keep a close eye on the diminutive princess and keep her out of trouble. The act of basically throwing Entrapta away for her own rise to power had almost torn Catra’s soul apart. She had since received Entrapta’s forgiveness and learned to forgive herself, and the guilt had turned into a form of overprotectiveness of Entrapta. Catra now watched over Entrapta, keeping her from outside danger, inadvertently causing harm to herself, or from blowing them all up. Catra would never admit any of this, of course.

Entrapta, easily distracted by anything out of the ordinary, took an interest in the alien’s powers, suddenly unbothered by the battle around them.

“Your cloak ability is FASCINATING! When this is over, may I have a sample to study? I promise, just a small sample.” Entrapta emphasized her words by forming a small hand with her ponytails. Then, using her prehensile ponytails, Entrapta pulled out a pair of large shears and saw.

Melog, suddenly unsure and uneasy of the charge they were tasked to protect, simply tilted their head and whined.

As the elementals moved away from Entrapa, Melog and Emily and joined the others, forming a larger group that moved toward Bow, Glimmer and Catra. The friends moved toward each other, back to back; they were outnumbered now.

“Glimmer, this would be a good time for you to get us out of here!” Bow shouted over his shoulder.

“Bow, this isn’t Etheria! I have no direct connection with the Moonstone to draw on! All I have is residual magic and I used that up!” Glimmer yelled, panic in her voice.

“So, Sparkles ran out of sparkles, no big deal,” Catra stated matter-of-factly, “Time for us to do this the old-fashioned way. Punchy, remember that back-to-back defensive technique I taught you? We can keep Sparkles here between us and slowly wear these guys down. It’s our only option.”

“Catra! I am not a defenseless baby who needs protection. I can fight too!” Glimmer said petulantly, her fists clenched in anger.

Catra rolled her eyes, expecting Glimmer to stomp her foot too.

“I see I’m just in time!” a familiar, cocky voice shouted.

She-Ra/Adora strode through the mass of enemies, effortlessly slicing countless elementals apart. The mass of enemies sensed the greater threat and moved in to overwhelm her. She-Ra/Adora, using a radial blast emitted from her core, knocked the first line of attackers on their backs. Then, extending a line of energy from the point of her sword like a whip, she destroyed the next group in line. The elementals downed by her radial blast began to rise and move toward their prime enemy.

“What are we waiting for?” Catra yelled to Bow and Glimmer, “Let’s get in there! For She-Ra!”

Bow and Glimmer joined Catra in her charge, emitting their own war-cries.

“For Etheria!”

“For Bright Moon!”

The friendship squad fought as one, the elementals succumbing to their unified front. The friends fought together effortlessly, not through years of training, but their bonds of love. Driven by simple commands and programming, the elementals were no match for this. They did no love, care or even like each other, and therefore were not concerned for each other’s safety. Even though our heroes were heavily outmatched, they had an overwhelming advantage.

The last elemental was smashed to the ground by She-Ra’s sword.... but not before knocking Catra on her backside.

“Ye-OW!! Ooof, that hurt. I wish you did that sooner Adora!” whined Catra.

She-Ra/Adora extended a hand to Catra, who gratefully took it. As she rose, she grimaced and rubbed at her abused hindquarters with her other hand.

“If it’s really serious, we are going to have to take a look at it later.” She-Ra/Adora teased, grinning wickedly.

Catra returned the grin with one equally, if not more wicked. “Oh yeah, I think it’s broken. It’s going to need some _serious_ attention.”

“Get a room you two!” Glimmer groaned, almost exactly imitating the sick face Catra had made earlier.

“Is it just me, or do these elementals look a lot different than the ones we’re used to on Etheria?” Bow asked, tapping one of the downed robots with his foot.

Bow was right. The elementals on Etheria took the form of the native life present on their planet. Unlike those elementals, these ones were uniform and shared a humanoid form, much like Horde Prime’s robot soldiers. They were also darker and more sinister than Prime’s soldiers, though instead of arm cannons, they sported arm-blades made not for cutting, but for also inflicting maximum pain. 

The differences didn’t just extend to the elementals, but to the First One’s temple as well. Where on Etheria the temple was made of neat geometric shapes, this one had a more chaotic, twisted look, like a large overgrown thorn bush. The Etherian temple also projected an inner light that was pleasant to look upon, while this one glowed with a ghostly energy.

“Yeah, I see it Bow. Strange...” She-Ra/Adora said, staring quizzically at the elementals and temple.

“Who cares? Elementals on this planet, that planet, or on Etheria... they don’t stand a chance.” Catra said, nonchalant as always.

“Well, Entrapta,” Glimmer began, “It looks like your little scheme worked. Your device drew the elementals out and allowed us to destroy them while leaving the temple intact. Knowing She-Ra and Catra, the place would have been wrecked if we had to fight them inside.”

“Hey! I’m getting better at controlling some of my powers! It’s totally unfair.” She-Ra/Adora pouted, hands on her hips.

Catra shrugged. “Yeah... for me, that’s a fair assessment.”

“Yes! Thank you!” Entrapta exclaimed, her ponytails formed arms and she bowed. “It also appears Emily’s new EMP upgrade worked perfectly!”

Emily, who had since rebooted and come back on-line beeped in appreciation. Entrapta patted her affectionately with her flesh and hair hands simultaneously.

“If ‘work perfectly’ means working once then shutting down and leaving you defenseless, then yes, that hunk of junk is really earning its keep,” Catra interjected sarcastically. “If it wasn’t for Melog, you guys would have been toast.”

Emily beeped in protest.

“There, there girl, don’t listen to her. We both know Catra likes you.” Entrapta cooed, rubbing Emily in the spot where there once were deep claw marks; now, there was only a smooth surface. “Why else would Catra have buffed her old claw marks out of your lovely metallic hide?”

“Ha! Yeah right, never happened. You’re dreaming, Entrapta.” Catra responded, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Oh yeah, that’s right!” She-Ra/Adora said brightly. “I was wondering why that old Horde vehicle buff was in your drawer, Catra.”

“Guys, don’t listen to Adora. She gets hit in the head a lot. It makes her delusional.” Catra instantly replied.

She-Ra/Adora, Glimmer and Bow shared a knowing look. They knew their tough-as-nails friend had a tender heart. It was pointless to get the truth out of Catra though, as she would deflect and deny until the sun went down, and they had a mission to complete.

She-Ra/Adora turned to the temple, ready to begin the next phase of the mission.

“Alright, let’s see what we can learn from this temple. According to the rumors and legends we dug up, this is the last sighting of the First Ones anywhere in this universe.”

“Yaaaaaaaahhhhh! I will pry its secrets out and make them mine! ALL MINE! YA-HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Entrapta yelled, bordering on euphoria.

Everyone else besides Entrapta looked at each other, a little worried. Entrapta snapped back into herself, suddenly realizing everyone else was quiet.

“Oh, well, uh... what I mean to say was I will use my scientific and deductive skills to learn everything I can from this temple, to find out where the First Ones went and possibly, maybe, find them and learn what they knew of magic and its relationship to the universe, thereby, fulfilling my role as the ‘technical wizard genius’ of the group,” Entrapta said, taking a deep breath after her statement. 

She-Ra/Adora looked down and smiled kindly at Entrapta.

“That’s correct, Entrapta, and we are very fortunate to have you with us.” She-Ra/Adora placed her hand on Entrapta’s shoulder as she blushed.

The group cautiously approached the temple. It seemed to become more oppressive as they got closer. Its ghostly glow did not seem to cast any shadows behind them, even in the twilight of the planet’s weak sun. They stopped at what appeared to be the entrance, and She-Ra/Adora placed her hand on the runes etched in the door, studying them intently.

“These runes are strange, not like ones I’ve ever seen before.” She said thoughtfully.

The runes glowed with the same ghostly light as the rest of the temple. They appeared much like the runes on Etheria, but meaner, more corrupted.

“Can you read them, Adora?” Bow asked standing by her side, also peering at the writing.

“Maybe... give me a moment.” She-Ra/Adora squinted, staring intently. “Hmm. I think it says, ‘I wish to go forth from Twilight and enter Night, to move forth from weakness to strength’?”

Nothing happened.

“No, I’ve got it.” She snapped her fingers. “I _demand_ to go forth from Twilight and enter Night, to _cast aside_ weakness and _gain power._ ” She stated.

The door slowly rumbled open, revealing a dark, chasm-like entrance.

“Oh boy, nice, it looks really inviting.” Glimmer timidly joked. “I can’t wait!”

The group entered and Emily engaged her third upgrade, 360-degree floodlights. Even with the comfort of lights, the dark and oppressive nature seemed to bear down on the group.

“Yearow-rowr!”

The group turned, seeing that Melog was still at the entrance, refusing to come in. Catra walked back and waved to her friend, indicating that they should follow.

“What’s wrong, Melog? Come on!” Catra called.

Melog began a dialogue with Catra in their unique language; the rest of the group only heard meows and yowls that were feline in nature. Catra squinted as they spoke, seeming to be listening to Melog from far away and straining to understand them.

“They say that the magic is sick here, that it acts as a repulsive force to their magical nature. They cannot come with us and suggested we turn back.” Catra translated for the rest of the group.

“Oh, that’s great, a REALLY good sign when the magic is ‘sick’.” Glimmer deadpanned. “Maybe we should listen to Melog?”

Entrapta leapt up, her arm straight, index finger pointing in the air with one of her ponytails forming into the exact same stance. “NO! We must continue! FOR SCIENCE!”

“I agree with Entrapta— we came this far and handled everything that was thrown at us,” She-Ra/Adora assured the group. “A dark hallway and some ‘sick magic’ shouldn’t stop us from the answers we need. Let’s continue.”

Catra approached her friend and stroked their head reassuringly. “It’s okay, Melog. Can you stand guard at the entrance and make sure nothing follows us?”

Melog yowled plaintively but sat and did as Catra requested. The group turned and continued down into the depths of the temple.

Bow looked around nervously as they walked deeper, trying to think of something to brighten the mood.

“So, Catra... is that really all you had for me? ‘Good form, Punchy’?” He asked as he walked alongside her.

Catra looked over at Bow and delivered a half-hearted swat at him, which he deftly blocked.

“Ah-ha, denied!” Bow exclaimed, then continued in a deep voice: “When I left you, I was but the learner, now I am the master.”

“Don’t get cocky, kid.” Catra retorted.

“Did you just call me kid? I’m the same age as you.” Bow replied, confused.

Catra shrugged. “Yeah... I don’t know where that just came from, must be from some line I heard from one of Double Trouble’s stupid musicals. Anyway, in all seriousness, you should be addressing me with the correct title.”

Bow rolled his eyes. “Oh, not this again.”

“Yes, that’s right, Punchy. You should address me as Sensei or Sensei Catra. It is the correct form of respect for your teacher.” Catra said seriously.

“Yeah, I respect you but... not gonna do that. Also, why would I give you a respectful title when all I ever get is ‘Punchy’ as a name and title from you?” Bow retorted.

Before Catra had a chance to respond, Entrapta interjected.

“Query: So, I understand the concept of nicknames as a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person. Commonly used to express affection, it is a form of endearment and amusement. I also understand why Glimmer would be referred to as ‘Sparkles’, which is due to her appearance and the sparkly nature of her powers. What I don’t understand is why Bow is referred to as ‘Punchy’, as he is not known for his punching abilities, but his abilities with a Bow. His name is already ‘Bow’ so why the different nickname?”

Catra groaned covering her face with her hand, exasperated with Entrapta’s obtuseness. Glimmer and She-Ra/Adora chuckled.

“Oh, let me tell this one, this is _such_ a great story!” Bow said with mock enthusiasm. “As you know, Catra took me under her wing, or paw, and started teaching me her special brand martial arts. After a particularly rough session – “

“Oh man, you took a beating that day!” Catra interrupted, chucking.

Bow glared at Catra and continued.

“Anyway, after a rough session, where Catra fought dirtier fighting than usual – “

“Me, fighting dirty? Never!” Catra exclaimed.

“She totally fights dirty.” She-Ra/Adora added.

“Please stop interrupting me! After this session, Glimmer asked me if Catra just used me as a punching bag instead of teaching me, and that I looked a little ‘punch drunk’. Catra overheard this and came up with the _wonderful_ nickname of ‘Punchy.’ It’s been _so_ much fun ever since.” Bow finished, oozing with sarcasm.

Entrapta thought about this and used one of her hair hands to rub her chin.

“Okay, that makes sense,” Entrapta said thoughtfully. “Next question— I understand that sometimes the act of giving a nickname is reciprocal. What is Bow’s nickname for Catra?”

“He doesn’t have one, which is a smart move on his part,” Catra said lowly, menace in her voice.

She-Ra/Adora suddenly looked back brightly at Catra. “Oh, I have one for her! Remember, Catra? You liked it too.”

Catra whirled around, eyes wide and imploring. She mouthed _“No! No! No!”_ to Adora.

“Oh yeah, her nickname is ‘Fuzzy-Bum’.” She-Ra/Adora snapped her fingers.

“ADORA! That was PRIVATE!” Catra screeched.

The desperation in Catra’s voice brought a smile to everyone’s face. It also acted as blood in the water to circling sharks.

“No way! So ca-yuute!” Bow gasped, hands on his cheeks.

“Logically, that is a good nick-name,” Added Entrapta, “If by ‘fuzzy’ you mean fur and by ’bum’ you mean the Gluteus Maximus, then yes, fur does encompass that part Catra’s body. She does, in fact, have a ‘fuzzy-bum’.”

“Entrapta! What? How would you know?!” Catra looked a little worried. _How far had Entrapta’s quest for data taken her?_

“Theory! Science runs on theory!” Entrapta answered simply, both her flesh and hair hand extended to a point in the air.

Glimmer’s face was red with laughter. “‘Fuzzy Bum’! And her full name is ‘Princess fuzzy-wuzzy-was-her-bum’!” She cackled.

Bow gasped even deeper. “The cuteness intensifies!” His hands pressed so hard on the sides of his head, it seemed it would burst.

Catra looked at them with horror on her face, trying to think of a way to keep this from getting worse. She was so flustered, it made it hard for her to come up with a proper comeback.

“There is no way you guys are calling me ’Fuzzy-Bum’, I won’t allow – “

“How about I meet you halfway, Catra?” Bow interrupted placatingly. “You want to be called Sensei? How about Sensei Fuzzy Bum?” Bow laughed.

Catra whirled around, her fists clenched.

“Bow,” Catra was so flustered she dropped the nickname. “You call me that during our next sparring session, and Glimmer won’t think I used you as a punching bag, but as a scratching post.” She threatened.

“Ha ha, Catra, good one.” She-Ra/Adora said sarcastically, all the while making a stupid face that Catra hated.

Catra was flustered beyond all reckoning now and turned to She-Ra/Adora. “Well... how about I call you stupid…stupid-face hair-poof?” She retorted.

“Oh wow, that’s a good zinger, Catra! You know, I really love it when you’re too flustered to think straight!” She-Ra/Adora teased.

Everyone laughed and Catra tensed up. Her old anger flared up, but only for a moment. Catra breathed deeply and looked at her friends smiling back at her. Smiling not with harmful intent but affection, she fell into their old trap again. Catra breathed out and the anger, embarrassment and fluster flowed out of her as she realized her friends were once again trying to bring her down a peg and teach her humility. She let out a weak laugh.

“Oh well, everyone’s ganging up on Catra again. Whatever, jerks.” Catra said, indifferently.

She-Ra/Adora, Glimmer, Bow and Catra shared a laugh; the Best Friends Squad’s bonds were strong. Their affection and love for each other seemed to physically push the dread, darkness and oppressiveness of the temple far away.

Just then, Emily beeped and Entrapta looked down at her pad.

“I hate to interrupt this FASCINATING social exchange, but Emily’s sensors are picking up a strong First Ones energy source ahead. This is it! This is what we came looking for!” Her hair hands rubbed together over her head while she licked her lips hungrily.

Glimmer reached out to Entrapta, already knowing what came next. “Easy, Entrapta, let’s not be hasty. We need to take this slow –"

Entrapta was already bounding ahead in her excitement. “AH HA! SCIENCE! HAHAHAHAHA!”

Catra tried to grab Entrapta by her pigtails, but even Catra’s lightning-quick reflexes were no match for Entrapta’s enthusiasm. The group chased Entrapta down into the dark depths until they reached a large chamber. The oppressiveness and dread there seemed to swallow them and the darkness absorbed Emily’s light. A line of side by side pillars ran from the room’s entrance to the back in a line. In combination with the gloom, this effect added to the group’s uneasiness. At the back was what appeared to be an altar, with an arch behind it. The arch was much like the rest of the appearance of the temple, twisted and evil looking. Entrapta suddenly stopped and the group crashed into her back, ending up in a pile on the floor. Glimmer tackled Entrapta and pinned her to the ground.

Glimmer was panting hard. “Like I said, we need to take this next part SLOW.” She whispered.

The group helped each other off the ground and slowly approached the altar. On the face of the altar, there appeared to be a slot for a data crystal. On the floor, they saw its intended recipient, a black crystal. Unlike the usual crystals they found affixed in First Ones temples, this one was not diamond-shaped. It looked more like a 6-pointed star, much like the 3-pointed star that corrupted She-Ra with the rage-virus.

“Fascinating! According to Emily's sensors, the strongest readings are coming from this data-port and the structure behind it. The structure appears to be a portal! This is it! Going by our usual experience with these things, by placing the crystal in the data-slot and speaking the command, we can activate the portal.”

She-Ra/Adora stepped forward. “It should be me who activates it. If anything negative happens, I’m best suited to handle it as She-Ra.”

Glimmer reached out and gently grasped her hand. “Do you really think that’s a good idea? That crystal looks a lot like the one that infected you with the data virus. We really don’t need to deal with ‘Rage She-Ra’ or ‘Silly Adora’ right now.” Glimmer asked.

“Glimmer, I was only infected because She-Ra was shackled by the First One’s sword at that time. The sword is gone and She-Ra is in her purest form. It can’t happen again, trust me.”

She-Ra/Adora placed her hand on Glimmer’s shoulder and smiled down at her. Looking up at her smiling face, Glimmer was struck by how utterly pure and beautiful her friend was. She-Ra/Adora’s light shone down on her, instilling a feeling of good and peace. Glimmer was convinced and gently nodded toward She-Ra/Adora.

She-Ra/Adora picked up the crystal and studied it. It was smooth and so cold. Its surface was black, but not solid, almost opaque. It was as if she was looking down into a very dark, deep hole with a faint light glowing at its bottom. She gasped as a distant voice seemed to whisper in her head, indistinguishable at first, but becoming more intelligible the more she listened.

“Speeeak… speeeeeak... speak the commaaaand, mmmmasssSSSTERSSS of the UNIVERSSSSSSE.”

She-Ra/Adora placed the black crystal in the port, which made a sharp sound as it clicked into place.

“Masters of the Universe.” She-Ra/Adora tentatively spoke.

She-Ra/Adora’s body instantly went rigid. Her mouth opened in a soundless scream and her hand locked onto the crystal as if it was holding her. In her mind, she experienced a vision: _A dauntless implacable enemy, a losing war, a plan and then a weapon – hope. Betrayal, the weapon destroyed, hope lost, the enemy closes in. A last-ditch effort, an unthinkable choice chosen. Falling, darkness closing, hope turning to despair, then anger and ultimately, pure hate. A galaxy of infinite darkness, a faint light, near the light, a dark planet. On this planet, a presence, familiar like an old friend, but a friend that has not been seen in a very, very long time. A friend you are unsure of whether or not they are still your friend, their face has darkened. The presence stirs, sensing her, recognition, surprise, reaching out, grabbing hold, pulling in…_

“Adora!” Catra screamed, all composure gone.

“What’s happening? Is it electrocuting her?” asked Entrapta. “I know the signs because it happens to me all the time. We need an object to act as an insulator! We can use it to directly force her away from the data-port and break the circuit. Hurry!”

Bow rushed forward, holding out his bow. “Use this!”

Holding the bow between them, Bow and Catra ran directly at She-Ra/Adora, clothes-lining her back and away from the altar. She dropped limply to the ground and transformed into Adora, unconscious.

Catra was instantly by her side cradling her head. She placed her hand on Adora’s chest and the heart rune appeared, still strong.

“Please wake up... please be okay!” Catra pleaded, stroking Adora’s face.

“Okay, mission failed. We need to get out of here— now! This place is too weird and dark for it to be any good.” Glimmer stated, taking charge.

“Glimmer, is there any residual magic here for a teleport?” Bow asked.

Glimmer closed her eyes and concentrated, but harnessing the magic here was not second nature for her. It was different and not as easily accessible. She allowed it to flow into her…

“Ahhh!” Glimmer screamed as she collapsed, vomited and began shaking.

Bow rushed to her, placing his hands on her shoulders.

“Glimmer! Are you okay? What happened?” he asked worriedly.

“I see what Melog was talking about… the magic here is bad. The description of being sick is spot on. I’m not trying that again.” Glimmer’s voice shook as she wiped some vomit from her mouth.

The group heard howling in the distance; it was Melog sensing their danger and unable to come to their aid. The sadness in its voice was heartbreaking. The room became even more sinister as the shadows and darkness seemed to move, questing tendril-like fingers moving in their direction.

Catra watched, eyes wide and ears lowered. “Oh boy... that’s not good. We need to get out of here— and fast! Can someone please help me with Adora?”

“Allow me! Emily, carry Adora!” Entrapta stepped forward. Emily displayed her fourth new upgrade as four delicate arms appeared, each ending in a hand. Emily delicately scooped Adora in its arms and cradled her against her hull.

“I upgraded Emily with these arms to assist me in my experiments. Between Hordak, Wrong-Hordak and Emily, I have a whole team of assistants.” Entrapta said proudly.

“That’s great Entrapta, but now is not the time. We need to get out of here, especially Adora and Glimmer.” Bow said angrily. His seemingly infinite patience had worn thin.

“Right! Just let me just get the black crystal for experimentation.” Entrapta said, turning away.

Catra grabbed Entrapta and spun her around. Holding her shoulders firmly, Catra looked into Entrapta’s violet irises, trying to catch and hold the other’s shifting gaze. There was no anger in Catra’s face, only firm resolve.

“Entrapta, please,” Catra began, surprisingly calm, “Adora is hurt and Glimmer is sick. This place is not right and we should have nothing to do with it. We definitely shouldn’t take anything with us. We need to get out of here _right now_.” Catra emphasised.

Entrapta’s eyes briefly met Catra's heterochromatic yellow and blue ones. As their gazes locked, Entrapta saw the sincerity in the other woman’s eyes. Entrapta looked away, realization dawning on her that this was one of those moments she needed to focus on her friends more than technology.

“Okay...” Entrapta agreed sadly. Catra smiled at Entrapta and squeezed her shoulders.

The group moved out, with Bow guiding Glimmer, Emily carrying Adora with Catra close at hand, and Entrapta in the lead holding a pad and pressing in a series of commands.

“I’ve just sent instructions for Darla to meet us at the entrance and pre-set coordinates for a return trip to Etheria at top speed!”

“Excellent work, Entrapta!” Bow responded.

The group made their way through the temple, their concern for Glimmer and Adora at the forefront of their minds. As they tentatively walked through the halls, more tendrils appeared, searching for them. They began to hear whispers, beseeching them to remain in the dark. As they approached the entrance, they saw Melog, who howled with pleasure at the sight of them, bouncing back and forth. Their ears perked up when they saw Adora held aloft by Emily and Melog queried Catra, tilting their head.

Catra patted her friend on the head. “I don’t know what happened in there, Melog, but Adora is hurt and Glimmer is sick. We should have listened to you. I’m sorry.”

Melog rubbed up against Catra; they did not care about sorry or being right, only that their friends were okay. Catra affectionately rubbed their ears, watching as Emily brought Adora up Darla’s ramp, Bow and Glimmer not far behind. She walked toward the ship, stopped and glanced back at the hateful temple, silently cursing it.

Entrapta studied data appearing on her pad. “Good news! Now that Adora is on board and in range of Darla’s medical sensors, I can report that Adora has not suffered any physical harm. Her body has temporarily entered a coma-like state as defense against some form of psychic attack. Glimmer has been examined as well and has been administered something to help with the nausea.”

Catra’s calm demeanour was quickly replaced with anger. “Psychic attack? Temporary coma? How is that good news? How long is temporary?”

Entrapta checked her pad. “Temporary as is a day, week or month. As for the nature of the attack, I have no clue. I had no idea Darla’s sensors were advanced enough to sense something like that, it’s quite fascinating! Anyway, since Adora and Glimmer are safe, is there any chance…?” Both of her ponytails formed fingers pointing toward the temple.

The look on Catra’s face was enough to make Entrapta snap back into herself and she immediately came to attention, flesh and hair hands forming a perfect salute over her brow.

“RIGHT! Back to Etheria!” Entrapta did an about-face and strode up Darla’s ramp, Catra following right behind her.

* * *

Elsewhere...beyond space, beyond time, beyond the stars. In another dimension, a dark place, Night.

In a cell, deep within a mighty castle, a prisoner awoke from tormented dreams. He was not alone in his cell. His tormenter was there with him, the Lord of this realm, the Shen’Aan-war.

“Are you awake, Outcast? I have need of you.”

The Outcast raised his head, greasy black hair plastered his face. There was light in his cell now, light that had been absent for a long time, so he squinted when he looked upon his Lord.

“Yes, I hear you. What do you need? Must I end more of your enemies? More rebels?”

His Lord did not like to be addressed this way, for he was master of this realm and demanded nothing but fear from his subjects. To be addressed so boldly by an underling would usually end in their death. This would not be the case here, for what he had done to the Outcast was already worse than death. The Outcast was beyond death— death would be the Outcast’s ultimate reward. He swallowed his anger and silently promised exquisite torment for the Outcast once he was done with this mission.

“Yes, something like that. I have sensed a…disturbance. This disturbance reaches me through the void of space and time from the Greater Universe.”

The Outcast sat up, interested now. _The Greater Universe?_ Up until now, this had been an unattainable goal since The Fall.

“You have never heard me speak of the _Greater Universe_ before, have you? It was before your time. I remember it well. We had temples and outposts all over in my day. I sensed a powerful presence meddling in the one we used to enter this realm, long ago. You see, this particular temple is saturated with the power we have sided with, power which allowed me to draw energy from this special individual. Our Death-Binders were able to use this energy to open a tenuous passage from our realm to theirs,” The Shen’Aan-war explained.

“So, you need me to scout ahead and explore this realm?” The Outcast asked.

The Shen’Aan-war shook his head. “No, I have a task with which you should be familiar with. You see, I recognized this individual, an old acquaintance. In my time, this presence was associated with an individual named Mara. She was the bearer of the She-Ra.”

The Outcast looked confused, “Mara the Betrayer?”

“Yes and no, it is the She-Ra but not Mara, it is someone new. As I entered her psyche, I was able to see her more recent memories. They are most promising. Somehow, this new She-Ra was able to destroy our old enemy, that piece of genetic filth who called himself ‘Horde Prime’. This new She-Ra must be powerful indeed to have defeated a foe who almost destroyed us. Your task is a great one. I need you to enter the greater universe, find She-Ra’s new vessel and kill her. She must be out of the way for us to gain a foothold there and take our rightful place as Lords and Masters of that realm.”

The Outcast thought on this. He no longer cared about the history or future plans of his people. Mara the Betrayer, Horde-Prime and She-Ra were meaningless old stories. What bothered him was that he was being told to destroy again, to travel a great distance to kill someone he did not know.

His Lord became stern. “I sense resistance in you... should I have the Death-Binders send the Other?”

The Outcast cowered in terror at the change in his Lord’s voice. “NO! PLEASE NO! I BEG OF YOU, DON’T!”

The Outcast crouched face down before his tormentor, beseeching, daring to touch his hand.

“F-F-F-Father, please…”

A backhanded blow threw the Outcast back while his Lord, his Father stood over him, the embodiment of rage.

The Shen’Aan-war was furious. “You have long lost the privilege of addressing me as that title, Outcast! Now, will you do as I say, or shall we send the Other in your place?” He sneered.

“Yes. Yes, I will. I will do as you ask.” The Outcast’s head was down, as he held back sobs.

“Wise choice, for I would be loath to send that level of destruction so soon and tip our hand to our enemies. I will alert the Death-Binders; they will prepare you for your journey. Do not fail me.”

The Outcast did not answer as his Lord left. With him went the light. In the darkness, he felt the Other presence within him wake. It spoke to him in a faint sibilant whisper, almost cooing.

 _“Your father wanted to send me. You should have let him. It would be so easy to let me do the job for you. I know it taxes you so, the thought of taking a life. **Release me**.”_ The voice was soothing, the Outcast shivered when it spoke.

The Outcast hugged himself, as if by doing so, he could contain the evil within.

“No, never! Never again! I won’t let you.” the Outcast said weakly.

 _“Never is a really long time and you can no longer die, don’t you remember? It’s very unlikely you could hold out for that long. **Give in**.”_ The Other chuckled maliciously.

The Outcast began to sing to himself to drown out the Other’s taunts and provide a small amount of comfort for himself. It was an old song, one his mother used to sing to him when she was still alive. His singing had a melancholy beauty to it, fueled by the pain that filled his life. However, it was to no avail. Comfort had long left him.

The Other was exasperated. _“Really? Trying to drown me out with this old song again?”_ They sighed. _“I don’t understand why you treat me this way, after all, am I not your friend? Actually, I am your only friend since you –"_

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! AHHHHHHHHHH!” The Outcast stopped his singing and continued to hug himself, crying while rocking back and forth. He stayed this way in the dark while the demon in his heart laughed at him.


	3. Chapter 2:  Interloper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Outcast enters "the Greater Universe", intent on his mission to kill the bearer of She-Ra
> 
> Adora wakes from a horrible nightmare.

**Chapter 2: Interloper**

On the planet Twilight, a small portal opened under the gate in the main chamber that Adora was psychically attacked in. It was a swirling vortex of chaos, gaping like a demon maw to deposit a black-clothed body roughly on the floor, then closing back up with a primal scream. White corposant drifted off his body like fumes as he curled up in a ball, shuddering in pain. The Outcast groaned, unable to focus on anything but the pain of his interdimensional travel. The path to this reality was tenuous at this point, which made the journey painful. 

Unexpectedly, he felt it, a wicked wild glee within himself, unravelling and breaking its bonds. A faint reddish glow started to emanate from his chest.

 _“Yeesssssss!”_ the Other cried. “ _You cannot hold me any longer!”_

The agony and pain of his travel had interrupted his focus, giving the Other its chance to be released, one it took with no regard to the secrecy of the mission.

“NO!” the Outcast cried, hugging himself again, useless against what was happening. The reddish glow intensified. His rib cage and internal organs began to show through his skin, the pulsing light coming from his core, where his heart should be. “I won’t let you!”

The Outcast concentrated, beginning an intuitive process to regain control of his body and subdue the Other within. He began by focusing on the scattered fragments of happiness that had dotted his life. These always began with his mother’s face, a kind, sad face, gazing down upon him. He focused on her singing, the way it always seemed to calm his terrors and soothe his tears. He began to repeat the same song aloud now, though not as melodious as before, his strain and concentration taxing the song’s beauty. 

He then moved to another memory, one of his father finally taking him hunting in the huge dark forests of the Shadow Mountains. At the time, it seemed as if his distant father was finally accepting his son, a son he mentioned in the past as being too weak. There were other memories, few and far between, but they served as a kind of rope, loosely encircling the escaping prisoner inside him. He conjured up the final memory, which tightened the rope and finally tied the knot that secured the Other.

He remembered another face, a beautiful masculine face, his face. He remembered their first meeting, the other laughing and cajoling him for being so serious.

“ _You know, My Prince,”_ he had teased, _“you really need to lighten up! Open your heart, smile! We live on a dark world but it doesn’t mean we have to live dark lives!”_

Later, when he had joined the rebellion and they were both on their first mission together, along with the others, his new friends. The mission at the time looked dire, and he was unsure of his new allies.

_“My Prince, you have faith in us, open your heart and trust in your friends, we can do this!”_

After, when they fell in love.

_“After all this time, My Prince, you finally decided to listen to me... you have opened your heart to me.”_

The Outcast then spoke the name that belonged to the beautiful face that only resided in his memories.

“Shen’Dara.”

 _“NO!”_ screamed the Other, feeling its escape halted and its prison walls reforming. It said no more after that, only struggling madly at its bounds, too furious to speak.

The Outcast felt the struggles slowly weaken until finally, he felt the Other within sag with defeat. It was sullen, sulking and withdrawn.

 _That should keep them quiet for a while_ , the Outcast thought to himself, _At least long enough for me to think._

He could see nothing; his surroundings were pitch black.

 _Curses,_ he thought, _I was hoping for more time before I had to ask them for a favor._

Focusing within, he spoke a command.

“Grant me the power of Dark-Sight.”

The Other stirred, still angry and resistant, but bound by magic to obey commands. The Other usually had some quip during these exchanges, but only responded with a grunt.

Instantly, the Outcast’s surroundings came into view, the Dark-Sight granting complete and total vision in the gloom. Dark-Sight did not rely on light of any kind to grant him the ability to see, but on the absence of it; the more complete the darkness, the more effective the spell was. Dark-Sight worked by using the dark to see shapes instead of light, the dark somehow reflecting shapes and textures to the Outcast’s eyes. It was not perfect though, as there was no color and no real clear details in the objects being reflected.

The Outcast looked around the chamber; he was alone. If the Death-Binder’s spells were true, he should be here mere moments after the intruders left, the nature of his realm being outside this universe’s timeline, making this possible.

He heard distant voices and other sounds, like an animal’s joyous cries at a friend’s return. _He must hurry!_ The Death-Binders had imprinted a small portion of the She-Ra’s stolen energy into an energy spore on the Other within him, allowing the Outcast, by proxy, to follow the scent. Rushing through the dark corridors, he used the energy spore of his quarry to determine the right path.

As he came closer and closer to his prey, his Dark-Sight became less and less effective as the ambient light from outside became stronger.

“I rescind the power of Dark-Sight.” He commanded.

The Dark-Sight left him and was replaced by a glow ahead; it was the temple entrance and it was still open. The Outcast rushed out and was instantly brought to his knees, then fell flat on his face. _Light! So much light!_ It was intense and the new sensation filled him with overwhelming feelings; agoraphobia mixed with a kind of warmth, almost happiness. The light also hurt his eyes and he had to press his face into the dirt. Slowly, he began to turn his head and then, just as slowly, he opened his eyes. It took him some time to focus, but what he saw in the distance made him despair. It was a ship blasting off into the sky, and he sensed his quarry was upon it.

 _“Wow, my Prince, you really managed to screw that up.”_ the Other said drolly.

The Other seemed to be back to its old self and was feeling particularly malicious, using Shen’Dara’s old nickname for him as a vicious barb. The Other took great pleasure in using the Outcast’s own weapons against him.

It was no matter. The spore-scent imprinted into the Other was absolute and he could follow it, no matter how far away his quarry was. What he needed was transportation off this world and to wherever the bearer of She-Ra escaped to.

He suddenly realized how amazing the idea of another world was to him. There was only one planet in his realm and he had no reason to ever leave it. The knowledge of space travel, planets and stars was imprinted on him by the Death-Binders before his departure. He did not have time to learn all of these concepts the hard way as it was easier to magically cram them into his mind.

The Outcast forced himself to concentrate back on the task at hand. He needed a ship. Looking around, he saw nothing but the temple surrounded by flat desert, a wasteland.

 _There must be some form of settlement nearby_ , he thought to himself, _If there is a settlement, then perhaps there is a ship._

The Outcast reflected on this and seeing how lifeless his surroundings were, an idea formed in his mind. He could use the scarcity of life on this planet to find any nearby settlements. He had the perfect request for this.

“Grant me the power of Life-Sense,” the Outcast directed within.

“Granted,” the Other stated in a bored tone. Though this was unnecessary, the Other took every opportunity to communicate with him, usually with taunts.

An overwhelming feeling washed over him, pulling in one direction. The Outcast allowed it to pull him along and slowly made his way to what he hoped was his intended destination.

* * *

Adora opened her eyes. She was on her back looking up, naked and floating in warm water, like a bath. She quickly realized that this was no bath, as no sides were enclosing her and she was not inside; a dark, star-less sky hovered above her. She saw a bright moon shining down on her, projecting a hard and cold light, not like the gentle comforting glow of Etheria’s moon. 

_Strange_ she thinks, _how can a moon project much heat, let alone cold?_

As she stared at the bright orb, she had a creeping sensation that it was staring back, that a dark intensity was inspecting her. Adora squinted, taking a better look at the moon, not seeing the usual craters and cosmic marks that covered the Etherian moons. This moon seemed to have no discerning marks, just flat, dead light. She sensed that whatever was far above her in space was no moon. 

Adora shifted from her back to a vertical position, treading water, not wanting to look at the hateful orb. Shifting gave her a clear view of her surroundings. She saw only flat water as far as the eye can see, perfectly calm except for small ripples caused by her treading. She spun around being surrounded by the same on all sides, endless water eerily lit by the orb above. She started to panic but quickly shut it down, old Horde training kicking in. 

_Okay, Adora, you got this_ she thought to herself. _Remember what Force Captain Octavia taught you during water survival school_. She pictured the other woman clearly in her mind, instructing them by a large pool in a husky voice. 

_“Cadets, when you find yourself in an overboard situation, the first thing must do is STAY CALM. Second, you must stay in one place— it makes it easier for your vessel to locate you, that is... if they decide you’re worth turning around for.”_

Adora smirked at this memory, remembering after that statement, Lonnie elbowed Kyle in the ribs and whispered that they wouldn’t turn around for him.

She recalled more of the memory. “ _Third, try switching between treading water and floating on your back to rest. Treading water helps to keep you warm and stave off hypothermia while lying on your back lets you rest so you don’t overtire yourself. With the Horde fitness regime, you should be able to maintain this rotation for a very long time until your ship finds you or you tire out, drown and die.”_

Her smirk turned into a warm smile as this memory made her think of how Catra never participated in the water survival school due to her hatred of water. Her absence from these classes was what created so much turmoil between her and Octavia, turmoil that resulted in Catra scratching out one of the woman’s eyes.

Adora continued to tread water, continuing even when she began to tire out, reluctant to lay on her back and face the evil orb in the sky.

She became conscious of how far her feet kicked down and started to restrict the distance they traveled down from her body as if by extending too far, she could kick something that might turn around and grab her.

She began to feel frightened and too vulnerable in her nudity, the panic she previously suppressed returning.

 _Come on Adora_ she chides herself, _you’ve been in the ocean before. Remember the first time you were on Seahawk’s ship? When you leaped off like a maniac as She-Ra and attacked that sea monster?_

Remembering her She-Ra form, she concentrated on transforming, hoping that by becoming She-Ra, her sense of comfort and safety would return... and because being She-Ra always came with clothes.

She held her hand up out of the water and attempted to summon the sword, then She-Ra.

“For the honor of Grayskull!” she shouted up at the dark sky, nothing happened. No matter how hard she concentrated, she couldn’t transform. Adora became even more fearful at this.

“What is happening?” she cried aloud. “Somebody help me!”.

She slowly realized that the water she was treading in was very deep, perhaps having no bottom. It was not empty though, and something stirred, responding to her cries. Something huge, ancient and malevolent moved up toward her, and Adora senses its approach and animalistic hunger.

“NO!” she screamed, the fear becoming complete and absolute panic.

She began to kick harder, pushing down with her arms, as if by doing so, she could leap out of the water and out of danger. She looked up, once again seeing the orb gazing mercilessly down on her; it seemed to be enjoying her torment. Her focus returned to the presence below her, now almost upon her, a vast gaping mouth rising to engulf her… 

* * *

“NOOOOOOO!!” Adora shrieked as she woke up, still kicking and clawing out with her arms. She quieted, realizing that she was safe and her breathing began to even out, feeling bright warm light on her skin, light that was coming in through the room’s open windows. The light was soft and diffused, a morning light. She sat up and it dawned on her that she recognized this room. She was in her bedroom, hers and Catra’s.

“Bright Moon!” Adora exclaimed happily. “I’m home!”

The door burst open and Catra entered. “Adora? Adora!” she cried as she rushed over and leaped on the bed, wrapping her arms around Adora and kissing her face. Adora returned the embrace, overwhelmingly thankful to have Catra comforting her after such an awful experience. They parted, and Catra held Adora’s face and gazed into her eyes, her heterochromatic eyes searching for signs of hurt.

“I heard you yelling, are you okay? Oh, Adora, we were so worried!” Catra was almost gushing with happiness and concern, acting most unlike herself. Adora placed her hand over Catra’s.

“Yes…Yes I am. I just had the most horrible dream, although I think it would have been worse for you. I was floating in some kind of large sea –" Catra groaned at this; Adora knew she would hate that part. “I was floating in this sea, under some kind of weird moon that wasn’t a moon, and something was rising to eat me, well, at least I think it was going to eat me.” Adora gazed was unfocused, fear reappearing. 

Catra’s eyes softened and she started purring. “Well, you’re safe now.” She said, going in for a kiss.

“Hey, I heard yelling, is Adora awa—” Bow suddenly stopped, then gasped and blushed, turning around quickly. 

“Geez Catra, Adora just woke up and you’re starting in already? At least wait long enough for us to say hello!” Glimmer scolded with her hands on her hips.

Adora and Catra smirked at their friends, not at all ashamed or embarrassed. They had been caught too many times before for this small incident to phase them. 

“I had to make sure she was alright before I presented her to the rest of you, so why don’t you two take off so I can go back to my assessment?” Catra said as she moved behind Adora in an embrace, her head resting on Adora’s shoulder, her purr still present but lower now.

“Not. A. Chance.” Glimmer said with a bright smile, taking a seat on the bed. Concern suddenly filled her sparkling purple-pink eyes and she placed a hand on Adora’s leg. “How are you feeling? Do you remember anything?”

Adora concentrated, thinking back to the mission to the First One’s temple. “I remember we were going to open the portal, picking up that black crystal, placing it on the altar and saying, ‘Master of the Universe’. There was a series of strange images, then nothing, just blackness.”

Bow had moved behind Glimmer, placing his hands on her shoulders. “It was like the altar had a hold of you or something. Entrapta thought it was electrocuting you, so Catra and I used my bow to knock you off. You instantly transformed back to She-Ra and were completely unconscious on the floor.”

As if summoned by name, Entrapta entered in a rush, Emily right behind. “ADORA!!! YOU'RE OKAY! I’M SO GLAD!” The diminutive princess bounded onto the bed, wrapping her arms and ponytails around Adora and by proxy, Catra. She showed no concern or hesitation at invading such an intimate space between the two women, but Catra and Adora did not mind; they were used to Entrapta’s obliviousness. 

She broke the embrace and sat back, still gushing with happiness. “Adora, it's so good to see you fully functional again!” Emily pulled up, emitting a series of happy beeps. “Emily expresses her relief also.” Entrapta translated, then pulled out a recorder and held it out, pressing the ‘on’ button. “Tell me everything! Don’t leave anything out, not a speck of DATA!”

Glimmer grabbed Entrapta by the shoulders and began to pull her back. “Easy girl, let’s give Adora a little space to breathe, she _just_ woke up.”

Catra shook her head at Entrapta like an exasperated parent. “Geez, Entrapta, you know it’s not all about data all the time. Right now, Adora needs her rest”. 

Bow smirked at Catra. “You’re one to talk, Catra, it didn’t exactly look like you were letting Adora rest when we entered.” Catra stuck her tongue out as Glimmer, Bow and Adora shared a laugh. 

“Ulterior motives aside, Catra is right. Entrapta, let’s take it slow with Adora.” Glimmer said and Entrapta looked down glumly, turning off her recorder. 

Before she could tuck it away, Adora spoke up. “No, it’s okay guys, I’m fine. Entrapta, turn that thing back on.”

Adora started from the beginning, slowly remembering the vision she had before blacking out, then retelling her dream story in greater detail. Catra clutched her tighter when she mentioned the water again. She finished her tale by suddenly waking up in bed, safe in Bright Moon. When she finished speaking, everyone momentarily stared at her in silence.

“FASCINATING!!” breathed Entrapta, her ponytails raising above her in exclamation.

“What do you think it means, Entrapta?” Bow asked, puzzlement on his face.

“No idea!” she exclaimed brightly. “But with the data I collected at the First One’s temple, plus this interview, I’m determined to find out!”

Catra was suddenly suspicious. “Just data, right? You didn’t snag any weird magical tech and bring it here when I wasn’t looking, right?”

Entrapta was immediately affronted and confused. “What? Me? Why would I do that when you told me not to?”

Bow piped up. “Oh, it’s because when we tell you not to do something, sometimes you end up doing it anyway. Remember when I told you not to mess with Adora’s ship— I’m sorry, Darla— and you did it anyway?” 

Entrapta’s confusion deepens. “Well in the case of Darla, it turned out to be for the best remember? It came in handy getting off Horde Prime’s ship. In this case, it was obviously not for the best, so I listened to you.” Entrapta said this as if it made complete logical sense. Everyone looked at each other confused, completely lost at Entrapta’s line of reasoning. 

“Entrapta, how would you kno –” began Glimmer before stopping herself, holding the bridge of her nose, feeling a tension headache coming on “Okay, you know what, never mind. Don’t bother responding, I don’t want to know.”

“Okay...” Entrapta drew out while looking at everyone, seemingly satisfied, understood now. “I’m going to get to work on this back at my lab in the Crypto Castle. I also have to check in on Hordak. He must be worried SICK about me as he hasn’t seen me since we left on our trip.” 

“Wait...” Adora said leaning forward and putting her hand on Entrapta’s, “How long have you been here? And for that matter, how long have I been out?”

“You’ve been out for almost a week now, Adora...” Bow responded.

“A week!?” Adora almost shrieked.

“Yeah... we were starting to get really worried. I had my father take a look at you and he said it was best just to let you sleep.” Glimmer smiled tiredly.

Adora was not only stuck by the length of time she was out, but also by the fact that Entrapta was able to focus long enough to stay by her side. She was touched by how along far the “tech-mad” princesses had come. Either through genuine concern or just by becoming more aware of social queues, Entrapta had done something very thoughtful.

“Let us know what you find out as soon as possible, Entrapta,” Adora said and then added, “Thanks for staying by my side all this time. It means a lot to me.”

Entrapta blushed. “You got it, Adora!” she replied, then turned, and left the room along with Emily for their journey back to Dryl and the Crypto Castle.

“So guys, our first mission was a complete failure and we are no closer to finding out where the First Ones went, let alone completing our greater mission of bringing magic back to the galaxy. What’s next?” Bow commented inquisitively, looking at his friends.

“What’s next?” Catra smirked. “What’s next is that you two get out of here so I can spend some time with my girlfriend. Also, Adora, we are spending the _entire_ day together, we are not going to say a single word about First Ones, bad dreams, bringing magic back the galaxy or most importantly, about swimming in water of _any_ kind!” She declared triumphantly. She made a shooing motion with her hands, garnering laughter from everyone as Adora relaxed back into her arms.

“That sounds like a perfect dream to me!” Adora said.

* * *

The Outcast surveyed the busy village before him, watching the residents go about their day carefree, unaware of his scrutiny. He was getting close now, he could feel it. He had overheard one of the residents refer to their village as Thaymor. His intended destination, Bright Moon was next on the road he followed.

The Outcast had managed to leave Twilight using his “Life-Sense” spell to find what appeared to be an outpost. Using another one of the Other’s gifts, “Sight Unseen”, he was able to become invisible and infiltrate the Outpost, enabling him to stow away on a ship. This vessel brought him to another planet. When he sensed the spore was not there, he simply found a different ship to stow away on to another planet. He did this for two days, growing increasingly frustrated every day, having a limited idea of just how big the universe was.

He decided to try a different tactic— he decided to become visible and interview the locals in an effort to find She-Ra’s planet. This was not as straightforward as it may have seemed though; the myriad planets and people he found on them were vastly different and he could not speak their language. For this task, he used the gift, “Stranger’s Speech Known”, and set to work gathering intelligence, listening in on conversations and interjecting when something sounded promising. After about half a day of this, he came across an old trader speaking of a strange new planet that had appeared a year ago, and this planet was the home to a magical warrior woman, and where the tyrant Horde Prime met his end. This trader said he just so happened to be going there to explore and see what this new world had to offer in trade.

 _“That’s it, my Prince!”_ the Other had shouted in his head. “ _That must be the home of the She-Ra! We must go, go, GO, GO!”_ The Other’s excitement grew in the hunt, making it impatient and neurotic.

Since the trail was simple to follow, it took a short time to reach this world, landing at its only port for space-faring vehicles. He exited the trader’s craft under the cover of “Sight-Unseen” and gazed at this strange new place. Looking around, he saw what appeared to be a city, the buildings covered in plant growth. He overheard one of the locals refer to the place as “the Old Fright Zone”. This was a strange name to him; it did not seem apt for there was nothing to him that was frightening about the place.

“These fools know nothing about true fright, my Prince.” the Other cooed in his mind. He found himself reluctantly agreeing with the Other. The place he found himself in was tame in comparison to the dark place he came from, the place of Night.

Once on She-Ra’s planet- Etheria, as it became known to him— the energy spore was so strong that local intelligence was not needed to find his quarry. His journey took him from the so-called “Fright Zone” to a large forest, a truly beautiful place full of lights and whispers, the exact opposite of the dark, haunted forests of his home. Its beauty was so overwhelmingly intense, the Outcast had to wait for nighttime and use “Dark Vision” to cross it, otherwise, he would have been driven to absolute tears.

It had not taken him long to find this village of Thaymor, after finding a rough road whose trail brought him in the same direction as the energy spore. From here, the tales of She-Ra were abundant, and he discovered She-Ra resided in a place called Bright Moon. He was so close to completing his mission but felt no excitement or enthusiasm, only a kind of emptiness.

 _“Don’t start getting morose on me,”_ the Other complained. _“The least you could do is take a little enjoyment in your work, especially if you’re not going to let me out. Your weak emotions sour the taste of the kill.”_

“I have no care for your enjoyment, your “tastes”, or anything else that you preferred I’d do,” he snapped back to the Other. “I just want to get this over with.”

_“Ugh, you’re so weak! Why did your father curse me with such a weak host? He knew you were such a pathetic subject too— he always told you so!”_

The Other wanted to fight with him, beat him down with all the old insults and taunts in the hopes of driving him to extreme anger and securing its escape. There were so many juicy victims in this town, and the Other wanted blood.

“Just shut up! I’m not doing this with you, I know what you’re trying to do anyway.” the Outcast said, irritated.

_“Oh yeah, what’s that? Succeed where your father failed by making a proper man out of you?”_

This made the Outcast angry, not because he felt he didn’t measure up, but because his father’s definition of manhood was idiotic. Hunting the weak, dominating your underlings, ruling by fear; if these things made you a man, then the Outcast wanted nothing to do with the label.

“Nice try, but you’re not going to get a rise out of me with that old idiocy.” the Outcast said.

The Other would not be silenced so easily and responded in his mind. The Outcast became distracted as he continued to bicker with the Other, not paying attention to his surroundings.

The Outcast was slammed from behind by an immense force, the momentum of it driving him to the ground. The “Sight-Unseen” spell was broken and he immediately materialized as he lay on his back, stunned.

* * *

“Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, I’m in such big trouble,” Scorpia said, using her usual preference of speaking aloud her inner monologue, “Perfuma is going to be so disappointed in me!” She wailed. Scorpia was walking briskly through the village of Thaymor, completely focused on finding what she needed. 

“You did it again Scorpia. You were so focused on planning your first Ball and completely forgot that it’s our one-year anniversary!” she said, completely exasperated with herself. “The Ball isn’t for months anyway!”

Scorpia and Perfuma had been together for almost a year now, their budding friendship blossoming into romance during the hard times of The Trial. With the extenuating circumstances of Scorpia’s defection from the Horde, she was allowed to leave confinement and walk the grounds surrounding Bright Moon. Scorpia and Perfuma had spent many hours on the grounds, under the shade of the trees or by the water, going over Scorpia’s defense.

The act of delving deep into Scorpia’s character and her motivations for leaving the Horde had given Perfuma a look into the other woman’s heart and soul, and Perfuma fell in love with her. Perfuma stuck by Scorpia throughout the trial, her loyalty impressing a woman who held that trait in the highest regard. The love and understanding Perfuma had shown Scorpia was what the larger woman had always sought in a partner— love and understanding that never wavered, even when the evidence of Scorpia’s participation in some of the biggest Horde conquests came to light. Scorpia fell in love with Perfuma in return, and the two women began a strong loving relationship, a relationship that was soon approaching its first anniversary.

Once Scorpia had realized this fact, she panicked and went to the village closest to her kingdom with the most specialty boutiques, Thaymor. She was trying to remember where the specialty tea shop was, a new tea set for Perfuma’s morning tea ceremony would be perfect.

A burst of color caught her eye and she turned to see a mannequin wearing an orange open-breasted short sleeve shirt complete with black pants with a yellow stripe running down the legs.

“Oh, wow, _that_ would look so cute on Catra!” she exclaimed before stopping herself. “Focus, Scorpia! Tea set for Perfuma!”

Finally, her destination caught her eye: Thaymor’s Premium Teas. She rushed in that direction; she was a woman focused on a mission.

Scorpia had just taken a few steps when she suddenly felt a body slam into her. Confused, she looked down and she saw the strangest person sprawled before her. The figure was dressed head to toe in black; black boots, black loose-fitting pants with a black hooded shirt, a black armor chest piece over the shirt with matching black gauntlets, and shin guards on the arms and legs. A black cloth covered the figure’s lower face so only their eyes were exposed. They were dark and wide, wide from the shock of being slammed by Scorpia’s indomitable stride.

“Oh man, are you okay?” She said as she helped pick the person off the ground and set them on their feet. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you. That was totally my bad.”

The other stood straight and looked up at her, their eyes momentarily widening again as they took her in. The figure then spoke to her in a weird, whispery language with lots of S’s.

“Uh, come again?” Scorpia asked, completely dumbfounded.

The figure spoke a short phrase in that strange language, paused, then spoke in a language she was more familiar with.

“No madam, I apologize, the fault is with me.” The figure stated.

“Madam! Oh, man, no one ever calls me that!” Scorpia laughed, claws to her chest.

“They don’t? You have my apology again if I offended you.” the other said, their voice tinged with worry.

“No, no, I like it. It’s great!” Scorpia said happily.

Scorpia noticed the other had a slight accent, one she has never heard before. The voice was also clearly a young man, not too far out of his teens.

“Are you from around here? Do you need any help getting around?” asked Scorpia kindly.

“No, no, I will be just fine. I am sorry to have disturbed you, I must be on my way.” the other replied, quickly walking in the direction of a small alley between two shops.

“Okay, have a nice day!” Scorpia brightly shouted after him. “What a nice fellow,” She said to herself. “Nice, but very odd. Now, where was I? That’s right, tea set!”

* * *

The Outcast rushed out of view behind a shop, while the Other laughed in his head.

“Grant me Sight-Unseen,” the Outcast growled inwardly.

 _“Oh, granted,”_ the Other replied, still chuckling. _“That was hilarious! That huge beast of a woman almost killed you!”_ The Other’s laughter was loud and mocking.

The Outcast was fuming, not at his mocking, but by the Other’s description of the woman. He had only briefly interacted with her but got the sense that she was a kind, generous soul— those were few and far between back in the realm of Night. Traits that he cherished and tried to hold on to when he found them in others.

The Outcast had enough. The Other’s nonsense almost got them caught and could potentially ruin the mission. He had to regain control or there was no point to any of this.

“Listen here and listen good,” he spoke firmly, brimming with anger. “If you keep up with the constant taunts and mind games, I swear, I will end this right now.”

The Outcast pulled out a dagger, its meaning fully known to the Other.

“I will end this right now, and we will _both_ be sent back to the corpse-pools to be stitched back together by the Death-Binders! Once we are whole again, we will _both_ face the displeasure of my Father! Just test me again and see!” The Outcast growled lowly.

The Other was silent as they knew the Outcast would do it; he had done it before. The Other was loath to end the fun so soon, to go through the ordeal of congealment followed by the wrath of the Lord and ruler of their realm.

 _“Very well. I will behave, I promise.”_ the Other replied.

“Good,” the Outcast replied, satisfied. He turned to the road exiting Thaymor, starting on the path to Bright Moon, content in the peace and quiet his threat afforded him.


	4. Chapter 3: “Don’t mess with my Grrrl.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Entrapta and Hordak make a discovery which only deepens the greater mystery. 
> 
> Catra and Adora spend a day together. 
> 
> The Outcast is close to completing his mission, to kill the bearer of the She-Ra. 
> 
> Catra has to fight wearing only her underwear.

**Chapter 3: “Don’t mess with my Grrrl.”**

Entrapta frantically ran through the maze of her castle, trying to remember the correct path all while disabling any traps, Emily in tow. She was completely and utterly in the throes of her single-minded drive to achieve one objective.

Using one of her ponytails, she hurriedly typed what she believed to be the correct code into the pad, trying to open the door to the secret passage. The door and passage were the end of the maze and the entry into her inner sanctum, a term she more recently began to call her living space and labs. In her haste, she typed in the wrong code and was instantly electrocuted.

“Ahhhh!” she screamed as she pulled away. “Drat! Curse you! That was the right one, right? The first ten digits of Emily’s personality code?”

Entrapta stepped back and rubbed her chin, tongue sticking out in thought. Emily beeped a suggestion to her. Entrapta listened, then entered in a different code and the door opened.

“Ah-ha! You were right, Emily! It was the last ten digits of your locomotion sub-routine!”

The door opened and she leaped in, yelling in absolute joy. Emily followed, emitting her own excited beeps.

“Oh, Hordaaaaak! I’m HOOOOOME!” Entrapta yelled, drawing out the words.

Entrapta bounced and skipped, peeking into different chambers and labs as she sought her love.

“Hordak! Hordak? Where are you, you rascal?” Entrapta called.

“Here my love,” Hordak responded, appearing from one of the labs at the end of the hall. He was smiling and holding something behind his back.

“EEEEEEEEEEE!” Entrapta squealed as she ran to him. Using her ponytails to lift herself to Hordak’s level, she wrapped her arms around him, delivering quick kisses to his smiling face. Emily ran up as well, rubbing against Hordak’s leg like an affectionate pet.

“Easy, my love, easy!” Hordak chuckled. With his free hand, he cupped her face and kissed her. It was a simple, innocent kiss, with pure love behind it.

They parted and Entrapta took a little step back, taking him in.

Hordak’s appearance had changed immensely since he was the master of the Horde. Instead of power armor, he now wore simple black, red and brown robes, like a scholar. Under the robes, he wore an electro-mechanical support harness created by Entrapta, which made up for the weakness in his clone body. Hordak was able to enjoy a brief sense of rejuvenation while he was under Horde Prime’s influence, but this slowly left him once he was free. His body slowly reverted to his old form, his hair darkening and the green coloring being replaced by red.

Hordak’s old appearance had not fully returned, gone were many of the hard lines in his face, replaced by softer ones. His eyes had changed as well, the inquisitiveness was still there but the cruelness was replaced by a kind of sadness. He also decided to give in to what he perceived as weakness and began to wear glasses; his eyesight had always been poor, and he was loath to show weakness to his subordinates by wearing glasses. 

Entratpa turned from his face, seeing his arm was behind him. “What do you have there? Is it DATA?” She asked curiously.

Hordak chuckled. “No, Entrapta, even better. It’s a present— for you.”

He held out a small object to her, poorly wrapped in tissue paper.

“I asked Scorpia to look for it in our old lab in the Fright Zone. It arrived just the other day.” He explained. Entrapta tentatively took it in her hands and slowly unwrapped it, revealing the gift.

“It’s a six-sided hex driver. Hordak, we have lots of these.” Entrapta looked confused.

Hordak shook his head. “No, it’s not just any six-sided hex driver, it’s the same one you sought in my sanctum. It is the one that brought us together.” He said softly.

Slowly, Hordak’s meaning slowly became apparent to Entrapta and her look of confusion turned to one of warm endearment.

“Oh, Hordak! That is so ROMANTIC!” She gushed as they embraced and kissed again.

They parted and Entrapta lowered herself to the ground, cradling her new gift.

“How did the mission fare, my love? Did Adora find what she was looking for?” Hordak asked her.

Entrapta started from the beginning, going into detail about the dark appearance of the elementals, the First Ones runes and the temple itself.

“Fascinating...” Hordak said, astonished.

“I KNOW, RIGHT?! That’s what I said!” Entrapta exclaimed.

Entrapta continued to tell him about the mission, recounting Melog’s refusal to enter and their reasons, the dark journey through the tunnels and the chamber within. She spoke of the “data-port”, black data crystal and portal arch, how Adora had volunteered herself to be the one to insert the disk and enter the command. Hordak looked thoughtful when Entrapta repeated the command, _Masters of the Universe,_ to him. Commenting that it seemed in line with what he knew of the First Ones. Entrapta continued, how Adora appeared to be held by the data-port, apparently being electrocuted, and reverting to her natural form once released, then falling unconscious.

“Is Adora alright?” Hordak asked, trying and failing to seem unconcerned. Deep behind his emotional walls, Hordak was concerned. Contrary to what he once said to Adora while she was held captive, Hordak did care about her. He also did not believe her to be inconsequential. He felt a fondness within his hidden heart for the woman who was once the small baby he found so long ago. He believed, at the time, that the best option was to give the baby over to Shadow Weaver. Perhaps the old witch would have some maternal instincts deep in her withered heart and be best suited to raise the girl... well, the best-suited person that could be found within the Fright Zone.

“Yes, she is fine now. Let me finish, Hordak!” she scolded, her ponytails seeming to frizz up.

Entrapta continued with her tale of how Glimmer became sick when she attempted to use the magic there, then, their escape and return to Etheria, how long Adora was unconscious for, the wait for her to awaken, and then the dark dream she recounted to them when she regained consciousness.

“I’m sorry it lengthened our time apart, my love, but I am glad you stayed by your friend’s side while she recovered,” Hordak said comfortingly once her tale was completed.

Entrapta beamed at him for a moment, but then looked a little downcast. “I told them I would use the data and information I gathered to try and make sense of the whole business, but I’m actually at a loss as where to start,” Entrapta said sorrowfully.

“Hmm...” Hordak looked thoughtful. “You said this planet was called ‘Twilight’, correct?” Entrapta nodded.

“Well, let’s start with that bit of information. I was able to download much of Horde Prime’s data off of his ship, the Velvet Glove. Perhaps there is an old star-chart that shows this planet, with details or a link we can follow.” Hordak suggested.

“Great idea!” Entrapta beamed.

The two entered a lab, smaller in size than the main one they shared. This lab served as Hordak’s personal space to work on his many projects. Though these projects were varied and seemingly unrelated, they all shared a common purpose— the betterment of Etherian-kind. There was an experimental power-generator, a device for efficient crop harvesting, and even some medical devices; prosthetic limbs, hearing aids and replacement organs. 

They passed these and each took a separate seat before a data screen and terminal, Hordak deftly typing in commands. A series of archaic charts appeared on the screen with the labels of planets, stars and systems appearing to be in the tongue of the First Ones, a language neither of them could read. In spite of this, they were able to zoom in on the system the planet Twilight was located in, but what they found was puzzling.

“Right there, Hordak,” Entrapta pointed to the screen. “This is where it is located, I’m positive, but this other planet was not there”

“Strange then,” he replied. “It appears that this planet Twilight was actually a moon of another world.”

Entrapta squinted. “Hmm, maybe it was destroyed? There were no asteroids or planetary debris though, where did it go?”

“Perplexing,” Hordak said, hand rubbing his chin. “Perhaps if we knew the name of this mystery planet we could dig up some history. I cannot read this label though, the First One’s language always eluded me.”

Entrapta looked up brightly, hand and ponytail pointing to the air.

“Adora would know!”

* * *

The Outcast sat in a tree at the forest’s edge and took in the view before him, it was magnificent.

Bright Moon.

Never in all his most fantastic and hopeful dreams did he imagine such a wonderful place could exist. Two massive rock pinnacles rose from a crystal water bay, a fantastic white castle nestled among them. Below this castle was a series of white towers of various sizes, some with white bridges between them. There were lush trees and gardens among the towers, and there seemed to be a small peaceful village near the water. 

Using the spell, “Focused Vision”, he could see guards in purple, blue and white robes. On their heads were white helmets with blue face masks; the bottom portion of their faces was exposed revealing stern countenances. On the top of the helms were purple horse-hair plumes, which extended down their backs. In their hands, they held vicious pikes with sickle-moon blades at the ends.

 _Best be wary of them_ , he thought to himself. _By themselves, they should be no match for me but banded together, they can send me back to the unkind ministrations of the Death-Binders._

He saw that many of these guards were uniform in height, but he caught sight of two standing guard together that stood out like misfits. One was short and had dark skin, the robes they wore seemingly too big for their short stature. The other was taller, with green skin, a lizard-like snout and what appeared to be a long, thick tail. This one was not as tall as many of the other guards, but extremely broad and powerful looking. The fact that the Bright Moon guard was composed of diverse races was not a new concept to the Outcast, as his dark world was composed of many different races as well.

He turned his attention from the guards to the people living and working in Bright Moon; they were so carefree and untroubled by many of the concerns that haunt the people of his benighted world. He was envious of their happiness, for the Outcast would never know true happiness again, not while the Other was still a part of him.

Then there was the true splendor that drew his eyes again and again. At the top of what appeared to be a very long, thin pedestal was a glowing, oval-shaped object of such beauty, it made his soul ache. It emitted a radiance not just of light, but of peace. It almost made him feel a sense of joy if he kept staring at it. 

For no reason he could think of, it suddenly made him think of the Set’Heth-un’dar, the only source of light for his planet. The Set’Heth-un’dar was much, much larger than this beautiful object, and the light it emitted was cold and unpleasant. It seemed that the Set’Heth-un’dar was the exact opposite of the glowing oval object he gazed upon. The Other broke him out of his reverie.

 _“That pathetic thing is no match for the power and beauty of the Set’Heth-un’dar, don’t you agree?”_ the Other asked. Their need for conversation had overcome their sulking, so they tried to start a conversation on a topic they felt they both agreed upon.

The Outcast most definitely did not agree, and thus did not respond.

 _“Ah, I sense that you do not. That makes sense, I will say no more. I wish not to upset you.”_ The Other always started their road back to full-blown hostility with passive-aggressiveness.

 _“So, what is our plan? Are we going to sit here gazing at that ugly stone or complete our mission?”_ the Other continued.

“Yes. I’m going to sit here, wait for the cover of darkness, then move in.” the Outcast said, tersely.

 _“Why?”_ the Other asked, exasperated. _“Just use my power to cloak yourself from sight. We have no need of night.”_

“Because I will probably need to use ‘Dark-Sight’ to sneak along dark passages, and ‘Stranger’s Speech Known’ to listen in on conversations and gain intel. I know that using too many of your powers at once taxes you, and thus weakens them all as a whole.” The Outcast rolled his eyes at the Other’s impatience.

 _“I see what you did there, that was a particularly good stab at me,_ My Prince _.”_ The Other chuckled.

“I did not mean— ugh, I’m not trying to start fighting with you again! What I said was true and you know it. Besides giving us the cover of darkness, nighttime is also most likely when the bearer of the She-Ra will be asleep. I want this to be a clean, quiet kill.”

The Other did not like the idea of a clean quiet kill but did not comment on that and agreed to wait.

* * *

Adora and Catra were the embodiment of absolute happiness. They had begun their day together with a picnic breakfast on the beaches by the bay of Bright Moon. Glimmer made sure the kitchen packed their picnic basket full of all sorts of pastries, sweet and tart jams, fruit, and three varieties of juices. A delicious lunch was also packed for them, three different kinds of sandwiches and a salad, in case they wanted to stay wherever they ended up. They had spent their morning laughing, talking or in contented silence, enjoying the morning sun sparkling on the crystal-clear waters. They stayed this way until lunch, in no hurry.

After lunch, they moved along the beach to a field of flowers on the sea-ward side of Bright Moon, slowly meandering and picking the most beautiful ones for each other. Adora had eschewed her normal attire for a light sundress with a green, yellow and white floral pattern and flat white sandals on her feet. She had also let her hair down, free from any restrictions. 

Catra was in a brown, wide-legged jumpsuit made of a light, flowy material. It was open at the top with two thin cloth straps and a cloth belt tied around the waist. Her mane of hair was pulled into a ponytail with her bangs down, and of course, she had no footwear on.

Adora had just put the flower that Catra found in her hair when reached to place one of her own in Catra’s hair.

“NO!” Catra squealed, laughing and pushing Adora’s hand away. “You are _not_ putting that in my hair!”

Catra ran away giggling, Adora following in hot pursuit with the flower in her hand. Catra led her in the chase; she was easily able to outrun the other woman, but this was not her intention. After a short distance, Catra let Adora catch her, who playfully tackled her into the flowers. They rolled, laughing and giggling, until they came to rest entwined together. Adora was on top, flower in hand, which she held to Catra.

“I swear Adora, if you put that in my hair I’ll yank it out and... and eat it!” Catra said in a high-pitched voice.

“Ewww Catra, flowers actually taste pretty gross. That’s an empty threat!” Adora made a funny face, then burst into giggles.

Catra laughed. “Try me!”

Adora gently placed the flower in Catra’s hair, then from there she caressed her hand down her ear and rested it on her cheek.

Adora gazed into Catra’s eyes. “I love you so much, Catra.”

Catra giggled. “I know, dummy. Just kiss me!”

Adora’s eyes softened and she leaned in for a kiss, this field of flowers was the perfect place to…

“Hey guys, I’ve been looking all over –” a voice rang out, disturbing their peaceful reverie.

 _Bow_.

Adora flopped down on her back as both women groaned audibly.

“Bow, how in the name of Bright Moon, Etheria and all the stars did you find us?” Adora growled.

Bow stood before them holding his data pad, a look of mortification on his face.

“Eeeeeeep!” was Bow’s response.

“Speak up, Punchy,” Catra said coolly. “I mean, after this morning’s interruption, your fate is already sealed.”

“My fate is sealed?” Bow gulped. “You mean during our next sparring session?”

Catra did not answer, she only lifted her arm, her hand cupped up and extended her claws, still looking at him coolly.

“Catra, stop teasing Bow,” Adora soothed. “Bow, I’m sorry I was angry. You just caught us off guard. It must be something important for you to have tracked us down.”

Bow suddenly looked very unsure of whether or not that was true, and hoped very much his friends decided it was worth interrupting their day.

“Glimmer said you were down by the beach, but I checked and couldn’t find you. I did see Catra’s distinct footprints and followed them along the beach and behind Bright Moon. I walked until I found your picnic baskets by this field, then spotted you in the distance.”

“Oh boy, mystery solved,” Catra said dryly. “Now, the reason you chased us down?”

Bow held out his pad. “Entrapta has been driving me CRAZY. She keeps contacting me saying she needs to speak to Adora, so I figured—", Bow stopped, realizing he was going to repeat Adora’s words. “I figured it must be important?” His voice trailed off questioningly, still completely unsure of himself.

“Oh great, I should have known Entrapta was behind this. This keeps getting better.” Catra said, rolling her eyes.

Adora smiled at her friend. “Okay Bow, let’s have it. Bring her up.”

Bow pressed the commands to dial Entrapta and the data pad beeped when she picked up.

“Bow!?” Entrapta yelled through the pad, the usual signs of manic excitement obvious to everyone. “DID YOU FIND ADORA YET!?” She screeched at the top of her lungs.

“Yes, Entrapta, I did.” Bow was exasperated. “You owe me for this.”

“Okay, whatever, PUT ADORA ON!”

Adora took the data pad and gazed down at Entrapta’s face. “I’m here Entrapta. What’s up?”

“Hey, Adora!” Entrapta yelled, putting her face so close to her screen that all Adora could see were her violet eyes. “You know how I said I was going to keep working on the First One’s mystery? I found something! Well, Hordak and I, that is!”

In spite of herself, Catra suddenly looked interested, sitting up and looking into the screen.

“Oh hi, Catra! Oooooooh, nice outfit!” Entrapta commented, easily distracted.

Catra smiled thinly into the data pad’s camera and waved dismissively while Entrapta continued talking

“I was telling Hordak all about our trip and everything that happened to us— the temple, the black crystal, you using the crystal, you being seized by the data-port, being knocked off, you becoming unconscious –"

“Entrapta!” Adora and Catra both yelled into the screen. “Please, Entrapta, get to the point.” Adora asked tersely.

Entrapta snapped back into herself. “Right! So Hordak was really interested in the planet Twilight. We brought up some old star charts from Horde Prime’s ship, trying to locate it and found some clues. What we found is why I contacted you.”

Entrapta brought her screen over to the data port screen showing the star chart. For being a computer image, the old star chart was archaic and filled with First One’s runes for labels.

“We found the planet Twilight here.” Entrapta pointed to indicate where the planet Twilight was.

“Entrapta, I’m sorry, but that can’t be it,” Adora said kindly. “The planet you are showing is a moon to another planet if I’m reading these orbit lines correctly.”

Adora squinted, looking at the label for the celestial body Entrapta was claiming was the planet Twilight, “According to the label for this moon it is called Dark Moon, not Twilight.”

“Adora,” Entrapta began, speaking like a parent to a small child. “My calculations are correct, **plus** I had Hordak check them. I am one hundred percent certain this—", she jabbed her finger at the data terminal screen, “— is the planet Twilight— or Dark Moon. What I need for you to do is read the label for the planet that Twilight used to orbit.”

“Okay, okay, Entrapta, I believe you,” Adora said placatingly. “Just give me a second.”

Adora squinted, quickly realizing she had seen this symbol before.

“Oh, I know that one, that’s the rune for Eternia.” Adora proclaimed.

“Eternia is a planet!” Bow, who up until now was trying to keep a low profile, gasped.

Entrapta turned her head, trying to peer at Bow through the screen.

“Exactly! It was the planet the Twilight orbited once long ago. Maybe it was a First One’s planet or THE First One’s planet, their homeworld!” Entrapta yelled excitedly.

Adora, Catra and Bow looked at each other questioningly.

“So... where did it go?” Bow asked, positioning himself next to Adora. “Was it destroyed?”

“Nope,” Entrapta said matter-of-factly. “There is no evidence of debris from a planetary explosion of that size. My theory— and it’s a sound one— is that it was pulled into another place, perhaps another dimension!”

“Like Etheria...” Adora whispered.

“Exactly!” yelled Entrapta into the screen. “Anyway, thanks, Adora. That’s all I need for now. I will contact you again if I need anything else!”

“Entrapta, wait —”, Adora yelled into the screen, but it was too late.

“She hung up.” Bow said apologetically.

They stood silent for a moment, the bright sunlight of the day stifled by a strange creeping chill they all felt inside their bodies.

“What do you think it all means?” asked Bow.

Catra gently put her hand on Bow’s shoulder and smiled threateningly. “What it means, Punchy, is that your mission is over. You delivered Entrapta’s message and NOW—" she gently pushed him back. “It’s time for you to GO.” She emphasized.

Adora smiled at Bow. “Thanks, Bow, I’m sorry you were put in this position, but can you do me a favor?”

“Yes, anything.” Bow replied.

“Please just turn that data pad off, at least just for the rest of today?” Adora pleaded.

Bow laughed, switching off the pad and turned to walk away. “I’ll see you guys later, sorry about interrupting you again. Have a great day!”

Adora smiled and waved while Catra only curled her lip, exposing a small fang.

Adora turned to Catra, pushing her down in the flowers with a smile. “So, where were we?” She said, eyes softening.

* * *

It was evening in Bright Moon. The Outcast stood at the bottom of a cliff, the footholds obvious to his trained eye. At the top of the cliff, there was a tower, one he sensed the She-Ra energy spore emanating from.

 _“This is it!”_ The Other stated excitedly. _“Are you ready? Are you prepared?”_

The Outcast thought on this. Climbing the cliff and the wall was no challenge, for he was an able climber. It was what he found at his destination that he needed to be prepared for. Hopefully, the bearer of the She-Ra was asleep and the kill would be simple. If not, then he would need to fight.

In his mind, he ran through his inventory of weapons. _I have my assassin’s short sword as my main weapon, duel evisceration knives that can be thrown, blood discs, punch claws, strangle barbs, razor powder, heart thorn, and sleep needles plus a blow tube._

 _“Yessss, with all your training plus my powers she will be no match!”_ the Other hissed in glee.

“Yeah...” the Outcast said sadly. “Let’s get going.”

The Outcast spoke the phrases for “Dark Vision” and “Stranger’s Speech Known” and began scaling the cliff.

* * *

Adora and Catra lay back in their bed in Bright Moon. Adora was on her back while Catra snuggled against her side, sleeping gently with a soft purr. Adora was still awake, gazing out the window at one of Etheria’s moons, absentmindedly stroking Catra’s hair.

They had spent a fantastic day together. After Bow and Entrapta’s interruption, they had gone down to Enchanted Grotto, now owned by Double-Trouble, and caught an early show. They had watched a silly but highly enjoyable comedy, and Catra and Adora laughed until tears came to their eyes. 

Dinner was served for the patrons of the show, a variety of food harvested from the sea; fish, shellfish, clams, mussels with kelp and seaweed for greens. Double-Trouble had enchanted the top chef away from Mermista’s kingdom of Salineas to work for them at the Enchanted Grotto. Mermista was not pleased about this and refused to ever set foot in the Enchanted Grotto again. Suffice to say, the food was delicious and the atmosphere Double-Trouble created was fabulous. Double-Trouble themselves showed up to their table to complement their appearance, gossip, tell jokes and generally just be a scoundrel.

At the end of their busy day, the two lay together, completely at peace in their closeness.

Catra shifted in her sleep, mumbling something and Adora felt her legs and feet twitch.

Adora smiled at this. _Is she dreaming of running?_ she thought to herself while stifling a chuckle.

Adora thought of how lucky she was to have Catra, here, now, like this. Just how many times had they been drawn together, just to be forcefully pulled apart? Pulled apart by their circumstances, by Shadow Weaver’s manipulations, by being on opposite sides of a war, and by Catra’s hurt and damage. How many times had Adora come to losing her? That time on Horde Prime’s ship, watching Catra hurt her while trying to hurt herself, under Prime’s control. Catra falling off the ledge to what was supposed to be her death, only to be saved at the last moment by She-Ra’s powers. Going through Catra’s anger and confusion resulting from her life being saved, saved by her supposed enemies. Catra did not know what to do with the emotions roiling inside her; guilt mixed with feelings of gratefulness and hope. It took an extremely difficult move on Adora’s part to draw that line in the sand, telling Catra she was free to leave and never see Adora again, for Catra to see the light and reach out. There were other instances that their love could have been lost forever, and Adora remembered them all.

Adora was filled with such overwhelming love and tenderness for Catra. She gently put her arms around her, pulling her on top of her. Catra shifted and whined like when they were little, but went limp and allowed Adora to move her. Adora then drew the covers up to the top of Catra’s head, wrapping her arms around her body tightly, as if her arms and the covers could protect Catra from all the hurts in the universe. Adora put her mouth near Catra’s ear, so close it flickered from her soft breath.

“I love you so _much,_ Catra. You are so precious to me.” Adora whispered tenderly. “You are my very _heart_.”

Catra shifted and mumbled, “Mmmm, huh? Mmmm, art? No, I didn’t, Adora... mmmmm”

Adora smiled, tears filling her eyes, then rested her face in Catra’s hair. Catra began purring louder now and Adora focused on the deep rhythm radiating into her chest. The beautiful white noise slowly drew her deeper and deeper into sleep.

* * *

The Outcast sat outside the open window peering in. His target was inside and she appeared to be asleep. With his Dark-Vision, he could make out her sleeping form on the bed and was startled by what he saw. He could see her head, and below that, the shape of her form under the covers. She was massive, her chest bulging up and extending far from her face.

 _She is big,_ he thought to himself. _I guess that makes sense since she is a powerful warrior._

 _“She is also asleep, so what are you waiting for? **DO IT!** ”_ The Other’s blood lust was up, and they were impatient. He felt the Other’s intense need for killing. It made him sick.

Pulling out the blow tube, he placed the sleep needle in the end and inspected the sleeping form. There— her foot was exposed at the bottom. A perfect place for the needle, since shooting the needle blindly into the covers was a gambit.

Putting the tube to his lips he aimed and blew firmly, the needle flying straight into the target’s foot.

He watched the foot twitch, then, strangely, her chest seemed to twitch as well, then tense and then go still.

 _Strange..._ he thought to himself.

The Outcast unsheathed his short sword, the absolute blackness of its blade reflecting nothing, and moved silently into the room.

* * *

Catra woke up, alert and on edge. She felt that something was wrong with Adora, but before she could call out her name, she sensed the danger she was in.

Catra lay absolutely still and listened, straining her ears, hearing an intruder enter the room quietly. The sound of a sharp weapon being unsheathed was unmistakable, and Catra prepared herself for a fight.

 _Someone just made a huge mistake,_ she thought, fury slowly boiling to the surface.

* * *

The Outcast slowly approached the bed and raised his weapon over his head, aiming for the target’s neck.

 _Quick and painless,_ he thought.

Before he could bring the sword down, the covers exploded in a mass of hissing teeth and tearing claws, knocking him back. He stumbled onto his rear, then stood up and backed away. On the bed was a creature on all fours, growling, tail twitching in irritation.

 _“You fool! It’s a trap! The She-Ra had some vicious pet waiting for you!”_ The Other screamed into his head.

The “pet” slowly rose on two legs and the Outcast saw that it was humanoid in form, obviously female from its outline. He could also tell she was just wearing undergarments, although even through Dark-Vision, he could discern no details. _Not a pet, a lover then,_ He thought.

 _“Quickly, you fool, kill it before others are alerted!”_ The Other was apoplectic in its panic.

“Grant me Sight Unseen,” the Outcast spoke, and he became invisible.

* * *

Catra stood and watched as the intruder backed away from her. She saw they were dressed all in black garb, a wickedly curved black blade in their hand. She emitted a low, threatening growl. _She was going to make them pay._

Suddenly, the intruder spoke, it seemed as if they were hissing at her as well.

 _That’s my thing!_ Catra thought to herself.

Catra watched as they became invisible, and she hissed in displeasure.

 _Oh no, you don’t_ , she thought smugly.

Taking deep breaths, she inhaled the scents in the air. _There it was_ , the strange muskiness of the intruder— alien and strange, but not unpleasant.

Catra’s ears twitched and strained, searching for sound. She heard something; the soft rustling of the intruder’s outfit, the armor shifting, the creaking of leather boots. 

Catra closed her eyes and focused on all these senses, combining them and letting them complement each other. She then opened her eyes. Focusing, she could see them now, a humanoid shape in a hazy outline.

She smirked. _Got you,_ she thought.

* * *

The Outcast slowly walked around the female, trying to be as quiet as possible while getting behind her to deliver the killing blow.

He saw her head tracking his movement. _How did she see him? That’s impossible!_ He thought.

“I can see you, idiot.” the female said.

He lunged at her, stabbing toward her stomach with his sword. The sword was deftly knocked out of his hands and he was kicked backwards. She lunged at him, all vicious claws and hissing fury. He was barely able to block her slashing claws with his armored gauntlets. Sparks were flying.

The female leaped over the Outcast in a somersault, delivering a kick to the back of his head. She then slashed his back as he stumbled forward.

“YAAAAGHHHHH!!” he screamed, incredulous at her speed and agility, the pain of his cuts burning in agony.

She laughed. “You like that? There’s more coming.”

He reached behind his chest plate and spun around, flinging three blood discs at her. She hissed again, batting them out of the air.

 _What can I use against this foe?_ he thought. _Heart thorn? No. Strangle barbs? No. Punch claws?_

 _“Not Punch Claws you fool! She has claws and she’s way better at using them than you!”_ the Other screamed. _“This foe is too great for you! It is time. RELEASE ME!”_

 _Not a chance,_ he thought. However, he reluctantly agreed that he was outmatched and needed to make an escape. He looked for something to throw at her. Looking down, he saw a glass of water sitting on the table next to the bed.

The Outcast picked up the glass and flung it at his enemy. She attempted to grab it with her claws and emitted a high-pitched shriek as the water spilled all over her face. She put both hands to her face, desperate to wipe it off.

 _Finally, a weakness,_ he thought as he lunged past her toward the window. He crouched on the ledge and looked down realizing he would not survive this jump.

 _Oh well. Back to the corpse-pools and to the Shen’Aan-war’s wrath_ , he thought.

Before he could leap to his death, a hand grabbed him by the ankle and yanked him back in, slamming his head on the windowsill.

“Oh no you don’t,” she growled.

After pulling him in, she slammed him down on his back, wrapping one clawed hand around his neck. She picked him up and forcefully pushed him into the wall.

She leaned into his face, forming a clenched fist with her other hand.

“Don’t mess with my grrrl,” she snarled, ending the last part in a low growl.

She slammed her fist into the Outcast’s face, and he knew no more.


	5. Chapter 4:  Bad Dreams and Good Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More bad dreams for Adora.
> 
> The Outcast wakes from his fight with Catra with a bad headache, Glimmer has questions for him.
> 
> The Outcast relives a fond memory.

**Chapter 4: Bad Dreams and Good Memories**

Adora is running through a forest of lights and whispers. It is night and she is in the Whispering Woods. She is momentarily confused as to why she is fleeing when she suddenly feels it; a malicious and cunning presence is chasing her, seeking her. She cannot see it, but she somehow knows they are above her, using the trees to chase her.

As Adora runs, she holds out her hand to summon her sword and then She-Ra.

“For the honor of Grayskull!” she yells.

Nothing happens.

 _Keep calm, you’re not helpless without She-Ra, Adora,_ she thinks to herself. _I recognize where I am, I’m close to the edge of the forest, once I’m clear whoever is chasing can no longer use the trees. We will be on equal footing._ _The_ _way to Bright Moon will be on the other side._

As she runs, she feels light above, shining down on her; it is the moon.

 _Wait, that’s no moon,_ she thinks, suddenly.

She sees it now for what it is— a malicious and hateful orb radiating cold, oppressive light down through the branches. It seems to be watching her, thriving on her fear and panic.

Suddenly, it seems as if all the lights and life of the trees are seeping into the ground, leaving only dark dead husks behind. The Whispering Woods she knows and loves suddenly become dark, deadly and sinister. She can hear unfamiliar creatures hooting, crying and howling in the distance. There are hungry eyes shining between the trees.

She hears it then, a voice calling to her from the darkness. It is a man’s voice, deep, ancient and cold.

“She-Ra,” he calls, then again with a chuckle. “Sheeeeeee-Ra!”

“You betrayed me...” he says, anger bright. “Join meeeeeeeee, Sheeeeee-Ra!”

Loud laughter radiates through the trees, mocking and cruel.

Adora keeps running, the laughter giving her an extra burst of speed. She sees it, the clearing ahead.

 _Almost there!_ she thinks.

Adora breaks through the clearing but is instantly brought up short; what she sees making her suddenly weep.

Bright Moon. Bright Moon; in ruins.

The previously white shining castle is smoldering and shattered, the towers crumbled and ruined. There are no lights, fires or signs of life, just darkness. Most tragically of all, the pedestal the Moonstone occupies is shewn in half, the upper part laying in pieces on the ground. Next to it, the Moonstone lies broken into shards.

“NO!” she cries.

Between her and Bright Moon, there is evidence of a great battle. Bodies are strewn about, nothing lives. Tears are streaming down Adora’s face as she starts to run through the corpses. Adora casts about, desperately hoping not to find a friend or loved one. Her path leads her to a large pile of lifeless bodies. What she sees at the bottom brings her to her knees.

At the bottom of the pile of bodies are Glimmer, Bow, Entrapta. The Princesses, all her friends; dead.

Her eyes suddenly focus on one lifeless corpse and she howls, crawling to reach it.

“CATRAAAAA! NOOOOO!” she screams, as she reaches the body, lifting and cradling it, stroking her lover’s cheek. Her tears rain down on Catra’s face, whose eyes are open and expressionless. 

One of her worst fears had come true— they had finally run out of chances. Cruel fate caught up with them and her dear soulmate is gone forever. The opening chasm in her heart and soul is so deep and black, that she suddenly feels something that she never felt before; she is losing her mind.

She hears cruel laughter above her, and she looks up.

At the top of the pile is a throne, with a large figure perched atop it. The figure is hooded, its face in shadow, long gray hair flowing down on either side of the cowl. On top of the figure’s head and over the hood sits an ugly, wicked crown, all sharp blades and edges. The figure wears dark gray armor encompassing their shoulders, extending down each arm in segmented plates, ending in sharp clawed gauntlets that rested on each armrest. Under the shoulder armor the figure wears a sleeveless robe, hiding the rest of the figure’s form.

Framing the figure perfectly from behind the enthroned figure, is the dread orb, shining its hateful light as if in triumph.

The figure rose from its throne, and she sees the handle of a sword behind its shoulder; it is massive, for she sees the tip of the blade on his opposite side. The figure slowly, purposely, descends the pile down toward Adora, as if descending a staircase.

“It didn’t have to be this way, She-Ra.” The figure says, the same man’s voice she heard before, then, almost kindly, “It DOESN’T have to be this way.”

As the man got closer, he holds out an armored hand, open in offering.

“You can join me, you know, and all this senseless death won’t happen,” he says.

Adora looks down from the figure to the body in her arms, Catra. Catra; so bright, beautiful and full of life, hers. Catra; who is so fierce, wild, never to be tamed, who would never let anyone bully her. Adora’s face darkens, deciding her choice.

“No” she says flatly.

The figure snarls, the upturned hand turning to grasp her, clawed fingers open.

The figure raises its hood and what she sees makes her scream.

Under the hood is a white, fleshless skull, black sockets leering hatefully down at her…

* * *

“NOOOOOO!!!!!!” Adora screamed, sitting up in bed, glistening in sweat.

Two hands suddenly rested on her shoulders, a familiar face with heterochromatic eyes peering at her.

“Adora! It’s alright! You were dreaming!”

“Catra!” Adora cried, relief in her voice. She was so overjoyed, she wrapped her arms around Catra’s shoulders, burying her face into her neck and began weeping uncontrollably.

Catra’s eyes widen in shock and she slowly wrapped her arms around Adora, pulling her in tight.

“Shhhh, Adora, it’s okay, I’m here.” She said, then repeated herself with a small laugh, “I’m here, it’s alright. Shhhhh.” She began rocking Adora in her arms.

“Oh, Catra, it was horrible! The most horrible dream!” Adora was still weeping, the pain in her voice raw.

“It’s okay, it’s over.” Catra said, still rocking Adora. “Was it the water dream again?” She tentatively asked.

“No, worse, much worse.” Adora answered, then recounted her dark dream in detail to Catra.

When Adora was finished, they both sat in silence for a moment as Catra continued to rock her. Then Catra stopped, grasped Adora by the shoulders and pulled her up so she could look in her eyes.

“It’s okay, I’m here, I’m alive! Nothing happened to me, and I can assure you, everyone else is fine too.” Catra said, imploringly.

“I know, Catra, I know.” Adora was slowly regaining her composure. She took in the other woman fully now, seeing that she was dressed in her usual outfit— red sleeveless leotard, dark collar, burgundy and black leggings.

“What’s going on, Catra? Why are you dressed?” she said, then looked around, seeing the light outside. “Is it afternoon already?”

“Adora, you won’t believe what happened last night.” Catra said.

Catra went into full detail about how she woke up, sensing something was wrong with Adora, and the danger they were in. Then, she told Adora of the intruder and the fight that ensued, the intruder trying to escape and Catra’s capture of them.

“The guards burst through the door and saw me in my underwear!” Catra said with a hint of glee. “I had to explain to them that it wasn’t some game, but that we were actually attacked.”

Adora found herself chuckling at Catra’s tale, the imagery that came to her mind was hilarious.

“They dragged the assassin away... I think to the new quarters they built for the Trial.” Catra continued. “Micah, Castaspella, Bow and Glimmer were all here, the guards woke them up in the night. Castaspella found a dart or needle in your foot, it must have had some sleep poison on it.” Catra explained.

Adora looked down at both of her feet, seeing nothing.

“I wonder why they just wanted me asleep?” Adora wondered.

“Well with me under the covers, I don’t think they knew I was there. Boy, did _they_ get a surprise!” she smirked. “After they found the dart, Micah and Castaspella did their ‘magic thing’ on you and said you were just asleep, and it should wear off eventually. I’ve been sitting here patiently ever since.” Catra smiled lovingly at Adora.

Adora’s eyes softened. “Thank you,” she said gratefully. “So, what happens now? What are they planning to do with the prisoner?” Adora asked.

“They’re going to interrogate him soon. It was some young guy, our age, I think. Weird looking too. Anyway, I'm glad you woke up because I wanted to be there.” Catra said.

“Wait, I’m coming too!” Adora exclaimed.

“No, no, no, no! You just woke up, and after what happened to you last night, plus that dream, there is no WAY you’re facing someone who tried to kill you, not right now at least.” Catra said firmly.

“Catra, you’re my girlfriend, not my nursemaid.” Adora retorted, starting to get up.

Catra pushed her back down. “No, don’t make me kick your butt— you know I can too,” she said with a kind grin.

Adora wouldn’t relent, so Catra then tried a different tactic. “Please, Adora, for me? I was up all last night worrying about you. Just stay here and relax, please? Promise me?” Catra pleaded.

The rare pleading tone in Catra’s voice did the trick.

“Okay, fine,” Adora said, crossing her arms like a petulant child.

* * * 

The Outcast suddenly awoke, a searing pain in his head. He rubbed his temples, moaning.

 _“That was SOME night we had, eh, my Prince?”_ the Other said, amusement evident in their voice.

“What…what happened?” he asked, sitting up and holding his head. He could tell by the limited vision in his right eye that it was swollen. He also noticed that his shirt, hood, boots and all his weapons were gone; he only had his black baggy pants on.

 _“Let’s see, you lost the element of surprise and fell into a trap, you were attacked by some kind of lover-pet, and with all your training, weapons and abilities you STILL managed to get yourself beat up and captured. Oh, and this creature had NO weapons, did I mention that you had weapons? Like, a lot of weapons?”_ The Other drawled.

“She _had_ weapons, her claws.” He retorted.

 _“Oh yes, she gave you a pretty nasty scratch too. How’s your back?”_ the Other asked, not really caring.

The Outcast’s back was slightly itchy, and reaching behind, felt what seemed like bandages there.

“Fine, actually, just my eye is hurting, and my head, ohhhhh…my head.” He moaned.

 _“You deserve it. The least you could have done was jump out that window and get us a trip back to the corpse-pools, but nooooo, you got captured.”_ the Other said mockingly. They were starting back in on the taunts already.

The Outcast ignored the Other and took in his surroundings. He appeared to be in the center of some bedroom or dormitory, for there were many beds there, pushed back against the wall. It was a plush, luxurious room full of pillows and light, pastel colors and bright, but pleasant light.

He looked at his immediate surroundings and saw he was encased in some form of circular light field. When he placed his hand against it, his hand was forcibly repelled.

“Magic...” he stated, dumbly.

 _“Yes, yes, my Prince, good eye.”_ the Other taunted. _“Wait! Quiet! I sense that someone is coming.”_

The Other was correct as the door opened and a few figures entered. A short, pretty young woman entered first; she was dressed in purple and blue garments, a sparkly blue cape, and matching sparkly pink and purple hair. She walked in like she was royalty and seemed to be a leader of some sort. 

Behind her walked in a young man; he about the same age as the woman, dark-skinned and very handsome, with a gold heart-shaped breastplate and something on his back— a weapon of some sort. His long hair was tied in a ponytail behind his head. He had what appeared to be the scruffy beginnings of a goatee. 

Behind them came an older man and woman with dark hair, both in wearing robes. They took their place behind the young woman and next to the young man. They looked like they could be related, perhaps they were siblings maybe? 

A dark-skinned armored woman wearing a stern expression walked in. She had pointy ears, and her hand resting on a sword at her waist. She stayed in the back, by the door. Then another figure entered, and from the outline he remembered, he recognized her.

“ _The lover-pet!_ ” the Other exclaimed.

The Outcast looked at her; seeing her without Dark-Vision, he saw that she was striking. She was wearing a skin-tight, sleeveless maroon and black outfit; he could see light tan fur with stripes on her arms. She was young as well, extraordinarily pretty and fierce looking. She had wild dark hair that began with short bangs and ran down behind her head, two brown “tufts” sticking down behind her large, dark, pointy ears. A dark tail swished back and forth behind her as she walked. 

She moved to the front, ahead of the dark-skinned young man and next to the young woman with the pink and purple hair, folding her arms. Yellow and blue heterochromatic eyes gazed at him murderously.

 _Oh yeah, that was definitely her,_ the Outcast thought darkly.

The young woman with the pink and purple hair spoke to the young woman with the tail next to her. He could not understand what they were saying, the magic he used the other night was broken by the blow to his head. The other shook her head and responded. Then the young woman with the pink and purple hair began speaking to him.

“Grant me Stranger’s Speech Known.” The Outcast said, and then, in the Etherian’s language, “Greetings, can you please repeat that last part?”

* * *

Glimmer stared at the figure imprisoned before her. To say his appearance was strange was an understatement.

He sat cross-legged, torso held up straight, hands on his knees. He was wearing only pants, the shirt, armor and boots removed for she was told there were many weapons hidden on him— ugly deadly weapons, some whose intended use was unknown. He was lean, taut muscles showing under the skin, and she could tell, even though he was sitting, he was about Adora’s height.

He was a young man, about her age, with shoulder-length shaggy black hair framing an oval face. He was handsome, she realized, with fine features and a patrician look about him. He studied them with dark eyes; curious eyes, with a hint of sadness in them.

This was not what made him unusual to look upon though, it was when she looked down at his naked torso that she stifled a gasp.

Tattoos covered his entire exposed body, in the shape of runes, starting from the base of his neck and traveling down his entire body, including his bare feet. Glimmer recognized them as First One’s runes, but they were strange, twisted, like the ones on the Twilight temple; they glowed with a faint ghostly light. 

The runes were everywhere under his chin except for an oval-shaped spot on his chest where his heart should be. There in the center of his chest, was what made Glimmer cringe.

There was a long, hideous, vertical scar, like an incision. It looked like it was made cruelly, with no regard to the pain it must have inflicted. It was red and swollen, like it was still healing.

“Geez, Catra, was that you?” she asked, turning to the other woman.

Catra shook her head. “Nope, my claws make nicer cuts than that. I got him in the back really good, though.” She chuckled lowly.

Glimmer then turned to the prisoner, and in her most firm and regal voice, began questioning him.

“Why have you come to my kingdom and assaulted two of my subjects? Two of my friends?”

The prisoner looked at her confused, then spoke a phrase in a strange, whispery language, using lots of S’s. He spoke again, clearly and with a slight accent.

“Greetings, can you please repeat that last part?” he asked.

“Why are you here? Why did you come to kill my friends?” Glimmer asked, dropping her tone.

The prisoner shrugged. “I was sent here to kill the bearer of the She-Ra,” he replied simply.

“So, you’re an assassin?” Micah stated angrily.

“Yes, I am an assassin. Although not a very good one, it seems,” the prisoner replied sorrowfully.

“I’ll say,” quipped Catra. “I beat you in my underwear and with no weapons, you’re the worst assassin!”

The prisoner looked over at Catra and smiled warmly. “Yes, you did beat me. You were amazing, you… stopped me...” He said the last part with a slight hint of relief in his voice.

Everyone looked at each other confused.

“Although, I would not say you were weaponless.” The prisoner continued. He held his hand up with his fingers curled, like claws, and moved his hand in a downward motion.

“Yeah, don’t make excuses,” Catra retorted. “I don’t need my claws, buddy. Give me another shot and I’ll beat you, no claws, and one hand tied –”

“CATRA!” Glimmer yelled at the other woman. “Enough.”

Glimmer turned back to the prisoner, “Don’t mind her, she’s kind of nuts.” Glimmer made a crazy face with one finger circling her ear, not seeing Catra scowling at her back.

“So back to where we were... you were sent to kill the bearer of the She-Ra. Why?” Glimmer asked.

“Because the Shen’Aan-war said it must be, so he sent me.” The prisoner responded.

“The shen-a-wenna-who?” Bow asked, confused.

“The Shen’Aan-war, my Lord.” the prisoner said simply.

“Okay, we got that, why though?” asked Glimmer.

“The Shen’Aan-war’s true reasons are his alone, I am only the instrument. He told me he wanted her out of the way for his plans.” The prisoner shrugged.

“And those are?” Chimed in Castaspella.

“To take over your realm, your universe, as it is.” The prisoner responded.

“Wow, the Shen’Aan-war sounds like he has some simple goals,” Bow retorted. “You seem pretty open with your answers, so why are you telling us all this?”

The prisoner shrugged again, miserably. “Because you asked? Also, because there is no hiding the truth as you can do nothing about it.”

“Yeah, we’ll see, buddy!” Catra yelled, ears down in anger. “We beat his assassin and we will beat anything else he sends back to us. I say we wrap this guy up in a ribbon and send him –”

“CATRA!” Glimmer yelled, holding her brow in frustration. She then turned and walked up to the magical barrier and squatted down in front of the prisoner.

“Let’s start over. I was very rude and did not introduce myself,” Glimmer said as she held her hand to her chest. “I’m Glimmer. The guy behind me is Bow. The angry lady you met last night is Catra. The two in the robes are my father and aunt, Micah and Castaspella. The stern lady in the back is General Juliet, she is head of my guard. What is your name?” She asked kindly.

The prisoner looked down. “I am called ‘The Outcast’ by my people. I go by other names as well; ‘Betrayer’ and ‘Fallen prince’ are my other titles.”

“Hmmm, I don’t really like those names, they don’t seem very nice. Don’t you have an actual name, not just a title?” Glimmer said with a smile.

The prisoner looked up and past Glimmer, a faraway look on his face. “My…name? My name was…is…Shen’Thran-zanmar’eth…”

“Wow, that is _quite_ the name.” Glimmer said with a laugh. She then tried to pronounce it. “Shen-than-zansmar-eth”... wow, I’m not sure about saying that all the time, how about we just call you ‘Shen’?”

The prisoner frowned. “You want to call me ‘Shen’ instead of my whole name, a nickname then?”

“Yeah, sure, why not?” Glimmer said brightly, and then in mock sternness, “It’s better than ‘The Outcast’ or ‘Betrayer’.” She stated.

“If it is intended as a nickname or shortening of my name, then it is not correct. Everyone on my planet shares the first name ‘Shen’.” the prisoner said, shaking his head.

“Is it like a title or something? Like Mr. and Mrs.?” asked Bow.

“No, nothing like that. Shen simply means ‘Dark’ or ‘Of dark’.” The prisoner responded.

“Wow, really cheery people huh?” Castaspella said sarcastically.

The prisoner turned to her. “I come from a dark place and there is little light. When you live your life in such a place, the darkness surrounds you. There is no escape. You have two choices: fight against it and be consumed by your despair or embrace it and make it your own. My people have chosen to make the darkness their own. Every day, every birth, every life, every new love begins with darkness... and so does every name.”

Everyone went silent at this, absorbing the impact of the prisoner’s words.

“Well buddy, _you’re_ pretty dark, so, the nickname suits you. We are going to call you ‘Shen’.” Catra said flatly.

The prisoner, now Shen, shrugged. “It matters not. I don’t care what you call me,” he said, defeated.

Glimmer focused on his torso now. “Does that hurt you?” she asked, pointing to his scar.

“This? No, worse things than this cut have been done to me. It is a small thing.” Shen replied, quietly.

“Who did this to you?” Glimmer continued, empathy in her voice.

Shen turned away and down. “The Shen’Aan-war. I betrayed him.” He became angry now, more withdrawn.

“How did you betray him? What was so bad for this to have happened to you?” Glimmer asked.

Shen pulled his legs together, wrapping his arms around them and putting his head down. “I have answered enough questions. No more, please leave me,” he said, pain in his voice.

“Please? Maybe…maybe we can help you? Maybe we can help each other?” Glimmer asked, kindness pouring from her.

Shen became angrier at her words. “LEAVE ME!!!!!” he screamed.

Glimmer turned to Catra. “You want me to…?” Catra asked, knocking one fist into her other open hand.

Glimmer only scowled at her and turned to face everyone. “I think that’s all we can get out of him today. Let’s let him rest for now, we’ll return tomorrow.”

As everyone left the room, Glimmer turned, holding the door, and looked at Shen. Even though he was for all intents and purposes her enemy, she could not help feeling immensely sorry for him. He was still holding his legs with his arms, and he had begun to rock now, his head pressed down on one side so she could see his face. Her heart ached as she saw tears starting to fall from his closed eyes; he looked like he was trying to keep all the pain in the universe from pouring out. She silently turned away and closed the door.

* * *

Shen continued to rock himself, eyes closed, not wanting to look at them as they left.

He remembered their faces all staring at him. They were beautiful, kind faces. Well, the one they called Catra’s face was beautiful, but he did not see kindness there. He did not blame her; based on how he met her, She-Ra must be her girlfriend. Her girlfriend that he was sent to kill. She must hate him for that, they all must hate him for coming to kill their greatest warrior, their friend.

He expected them to kill him for that and send him on his way... but they didn’t. Instead, they dressed his wounds and held him in this beautiful cell, unharmed. They had come with stern faces, but he did not see the hate he so well deserved… The one called Glimmer had even smiled at him, and was kind, all she did was ask him questions. When he didn’t want to speak anymore, they simply left. The undeserved kindness they had shown him made him angry and the hate he sought in their faces he found in himself.

Hate for the Other, whose presence inside him he could never escape, who constantly nagged and berated him, who constantly reminded him of the horrible things he was responsible for. There was hate for the Death-Binders, the ones who helped put the Other inside him, who was always there at the corpse-pool’s edge after congealment, always ready to welcome him back when all he wanted was the sweet release of oblivion. Hate for the Set’Heth-un’dar, whose damned baleful stare rained upon his world, the power behind all this torment. Hate for the Shen’Aan-war, his father, who instead of showing kindness and love for his son, cast him down into damnation.

Finally, there was the greatest hate, the brightest. The hate he held for himself.

Hate for being so weak, for allowing himself to be caught and turned into a monster. A monster, who in turn, destroyed all he had loved on that black world. _Hate, hate, hate, hate._ He hated himself so much at that moment that he started to believe he totally deserved the damned state he existed in.

He felt it then, blackness and despair coming over him and slowly, and the binds holding the Other began to loosen.

 _“Yesss...my Prince…”_ the Other cooed.

“NO!” he gasped, and immediately clamped down on the hate. He started his old routine again, going through his few happy memories, the singing, round and round until he finished off with the final memory to hold the other in their prison.

_Shen’Dara._

_“Ahhhhhh… you tease me, my Prince, no fair! But I knew you would catch yourself in the end, it was too_ good _to be true!”_ the Other whispered.

Shen continued with the memory of Shen’Dara, lingering on it, refusing to let it go, and he decided to stay for a while. He lingered on a thread, the beginning, the sweet beginning when they first met.

 _“Yuck! Not this again, please stop!”_ the Other groaned.

Shen ignored the Other and smiled as the memory began.

* * *

It started when he just started to be allowed to leave the castle grounds by himself; up until then, he was only able to leave when he accompanied his father, the Shen’Aan-war, on excursions or the one and only hunting trip he was brought on.

He was riding in a royal carriage, pulled by four Sekth, on a day excursion with his love interest at the time. The carriage had four lights on each corner to help illuminate the ground around them. The Set’Heth-un’dar was at its highest, but its ghostly light was not entirely reliable for travel.

 _Hmmm... what was her name?_ he thought to himself. _Ah yes, Shen’Amorith_.

She was very beautiful and a lot of fun at parties. He realized that this day excursion was a mistake, for it made him realize that besides her company, they had nothing in common. There was no spark. 

_Oh, well,_ he thought at the time. _There are plenty of other potential suitors in the royal court._

They were far outside the castle grounds now, the Set’Heth-un’dar high in the sky as they crossed the moors, the Ghoul Woods in the distance, when they were accosted.

A hooded figure on a Sekth had ridden upon them from their blind side, slashing the harness connecting the four Sekth to the carriage and driving them away. They must have been hiding in the moors until the carriage passed, then shadowed them until they were ready to strike.

Shen had leapt out of the carriage to face their attacker, sword in hand, finally able to use all the training gained from his father’s best warriors.

The bandit had laughed at Shen holding his sword, a bright laugh filled with mirth. He jumped down to engage him, pulling out a sword of their own.

“You sure that’s the way you want to hold that?” the bandit said. The voice was pleasant and melodious, a male’s voice, Shen could tell.

“Perhaps after I take it away from you, I might teach you how to properly use it?” the bandit taunted.

This had made Shen angry, for this was when he still believed his father’s concept of manliness still had merit and he was loath to look weak in front of Shen’Amorith.

He lunged at the bandit, beginning the moves his teachers had taught him to explore his opponent’s weaknesses. The bandit deftly turned these aside, giving up nothing for Shen to use against him. Shen had then tried more complicated moves, transitioning between different styles, trying to be constantly on the offensive until it dawned on him— _he was being toyed with._

The bandit turned the tables with a laugh, putting Shen on the defensive, driving him back until he was up against the carriage. The bandit then broke Shen’s guard and quickly disarmed him, placing his own sword against Shen’s neck.

“Do you yield?” the bandit said, playfully.

“Yes, damn you,” Shen growled back.

“Good!” the bandit said, “For I would hate to have to slice off such a pretty head!”

Shen’Amorith quickly leapt from the carriage, running to Shen’s side.

“Just take our valuables and go!” she had cried.

The bandit looked thoughtful. “I think I just might do that! Thank you for the suggestion, my lady.”

He bowed to her and as he raised from the bow he stopped suddenly, studying Shen. He removed his hood and mask and Shen was stunned by the face beneath, lit by the carriage lights.

He was the most beautiful person Shen had ever seen. He was of the Shen’Elvar people, that was most obvious. He had an oval face with fine features and pointed chin, framed by long, straight white hair, flowing down to his chest. Two long, pointed ears stuck out between strands of the hair, straight. His skin was a light blue and seemed to glow in the light. However, it was the eyes that really drew him; like all the Shen’Elvar, the sclera was a dark blue, but instead of the usual light blue irises, this bandit had bright gold ones. 

The bandit caught him staring. “Like what you see? _My Prince_? For that’s who you are, right? You’re the mighty Shen’Aan-war’s son, our Prince.” He drawled.

Shen said nothing. The bandit was sure of himself, and there was no point denying it.

“You’re not just a bandit, are you?” asked Shen’Amorith. “You’re part of the rebels. Not just any rebel either, you’re Shen’Dara, ‘The Rake’!”

The bandit, Shen’Dara, mockingly gasped at her. “Oh no! You found me out! And me removing my mask and all, how silly of me! Oh, and that whole ‘The Rake’ thing? Totally unfair.”

“So, what now? Are you going to kill me?” asked Shen.

“Why would I do such a thing when I could take all of your valuables _and_ take you as ransom!” replied Shen’Dara.

“What about me?” asked Shen’Amorith.

“My lady, you have this cozy carriage to stay in. I’m sure someone will notice you’re missing and come looking for you,” Shen’Dara chuckled.

With that, Shen’Dara began to ransack their carriage for valuables, putting the most valuable ones into a pouch he latched to his side. He left any food and drink for Shen’Amorith. 

When he was finished, he bowed to the lady and leapt upon the Sekth, turning to Shen and holding out a hand.

“Come, come, my Prince.” He said sternly.

Shen took his hand and was lifted behind Shen’Dara. He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to put his hands around him or not.

“Come on, don’t be shy!” Shen’Dara teased. “You’re going to need to hold onto me, for Shen’Jojin here is mighty fast. Oh, and don’t try anything like trying to push me off or something equally silly like grabbing my sword.”

Shen was so embarrassed he stayed silent, only putting his arms around Shen’Dara as the other prodded the Sekth into a trot.

Behind them, they heard the bellows of horns. The Shen’Aan-war’s guards had been watching the carriage the whole time from afar and were on their way.

Shen realized he could push himself off the back of the Sekth; he might sustain minor injuries, but he was sure Shen’Dara would have no time to turn around for him and escape the pursuers at the same time. Just as he thought of this, he suddenly realized that was the last thing he could possibly want at this moment and held onto Shen’Dara.

“You’re going to have to hold on tighter than that!” Shen’Dara proclaimed as he spurned the Sekth to gallop faster.

Shen had never gone this fast on a Sekth before. He had always been told that once you go beyond a certain point with the beasts, they were completely out of your control. Shen’Dara seemed to know this but trusted his mount— Shen’Jojin he had called it.

They were going so breathtakingly fast now that Shen felt a giddiness come over him and he started laughing. He could not stop the laughter for it was as out of control as the galloping Sekth... Shen’Dara started laughing with him, his white hair flowing behind him and tickling his nose. It had a pleasant muskiness to it, spicy and seductive, and he had to stop himself from burying his face into it.

They had quickly approached the Ghoul’s Woods edge and entered it without stopping.

“I was always told these woods were haunted,” Shen whispered in the other’s ear.

“Pah! Nonsense! The only thing haunting these woods are rebels!” Shen’Dara responded.

They followed a path that only Shen’Jojin seemed to know, twisting and turning through the dark trees until they came to a rock face and then a cave. Shen’Dara now in control of the Sekth, pulled it to a halt.

“Here we are, home sweet home. This is one of our hideouts.” Shen’Dara said.

They both dismounted the Sekth and approached the cave entrance, Shen’Dara leading the way.

“So, it is true— you are part of the rebels.” Shen had asked.

“Oh, most certainly.” was Shen’Dara’s reply.

“I was told the rebels were murderers, killers and malcontents who only wanted to bring down the Shen’Aan-war’s rule and create chaos.” Shen had stated at the time.

Shen’Dara turned and glared at him then, pulling out his sword. “Oh, it’s all true,” he snarled, cold fury in his voice now, walking toward him menacingly.

Shen backed away. _Idiot!_ he thought. _You were seduced into the woods by this rogue who is now going to kill you for sport, great plan!_

Suddenly Shen’Dara broke out in laughter, “Oh, how rich! Your face!”

Shen, who unknowingly had both fists clenched in preparation for a hopeless fight, began to relax, but he was still wary of this rogue. _Is he crazy?_ Shen thought.

Shen’Dara approached him and put his hands on Shen’s shoulders, squeezing gently, and looked into his eyes with those golden ones. Shen felt like he could almost fall straight into them.

“You know, _My Prince_ ,” he teased, “you really need to lighten up! Open up your heart, smile! We live on a dark world, but it doesn’t mean we have to live dark lives!”

* * *

Shen sat in his cell, holding the fond memory in his mind, Shen’Dara’s words still echoing in his mind. Shen’Dara had let him go not too long after that, without any ransom paid, but not before making a rebel out of him and stealing his heart. Shen smiled; his hate and anger had vanished.

Shen continued to sit there, reminiscing... and then he started to sing.


	6. Chapter 5: Late Night Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hordak and Entrapta make more discoveries.
> 
> Adora and Shen meet.
> 
> The Other has its day.

**Chapter 5: Late Night Revelations**

Entrapta and Hordak sat side by side at their own data terminals in the main laboratory of their home; the Crypto Castle. They usually spent much of their time together in that fashion, either working on their own individual projects, or teaming up to tackle a big challenge together. Both were contented introverts, lost in their individual trains of thought but they found comfort in being close together, for even the biggest introvert never truly wants to be alone. Emily was in the back, powered down for a recharge cycle, beeping softly as if dreaming.

It was late at night and Entrapta was slurping up her favorite purple fizzy drink through a straw while Hordak sipped one his favorite bitter teas. There was a platter of tiny snacks between them— various cupcakes and cookies— and they would absentmindedly take one here and there, not looking away from their terminal screens. This was one of those instances when they combined their intellect to work on a single project together; they continued to hunt down any scrap of information on the planet Eternia.

This was a truly monumental task; to search for one First One’s symbol in a thousand years’ worth of data was no small task. Entrapta had written an algorithm to help narrow down the search, but it was still slow work. They decided to divide the task between them. Hordak would work backward through the first five hundred years while Entrapta would work forward through the last five hundred.

They were coming to the ends of their individual searches when Hordak spoke up.

“My love, I’ve found something,” Hordak said.

Entrapta, who until then had been completely focused on her work, turned as if waking from a trance.

“Hmm....what?” Entrapta replied, her ponytails raising like ears perking up.

“I am near the end of my search and I might have found something— a video recording, from…a thousand years ago,” Hordak said, whispering the last part in wonder at the length of time he was referring to.

Entrapta fully snapped back into herself at Hordak’s words.

“Well, bring it up! What is it?” Entrapta asked.

“I believe it is the view of an external camera on one of the ships within Horde Prime’s fleet. I remember they had those. He liked to record his greatest moments in battle to view later at his pleasure.” Hordak explained.

He brought up an image. Other ships were surrounding the camera’s point of view. They were part of a large fleet— Horde Prime’s fleet. They were slowly approaching a planet, with two moons.

“Is that Eternia?” Entrapta asked.

“I believe so. This video recording was labeled with the rune for Eternia.” Hordak replied.

They continued to watch the recording. The fleet was slowly approaching the planet, taking their time, savoring their inevitable victory.

As the fleet neared land, they were able to get a closer look at the planet. From what they could see, its landscape was a mixture of all kinds of topographies; lush forests, mountainous terrain, deserts and other more fantastic landscapes. It reminded them of the space views of Etheria they had been able to start taking, now that they explored beyond the realms of their planet.

Around this planet— Eternia, they were certain— they focused on the two moons, almost on opposite sides of the planet. One appeared on the dark side while the other was on the light side. They were just barely in sight of each other with what appeared to be a beam of bright light connecting them, like concentrated sunlight. The beam seemed to be generated on the light moon and was being shared with the dark moon.

At the spot where the beam of light connected with the dark moon, there was a sudden explosion of darkness. The darkness seeped up the beam of light, consuming it, faster and faster. It was blacker than black, blacker than space. It traveled toward the light moon until it hit, the spot of its impact imploding. The surface of the bright moon cracked, broke apart, and seemed to be drawn into the point of the dark beam. 

As the edges of the bright moon collapsed inward, a dread light was revealed on the edges in the exact shape of the original bright moon. The rocks and debris were slowly sucked into the middle until nothing was left but a hideous, dead orb. Suddenly, the dark beam disappeared, and the orb pulsed with light, as if a dark god was born and it was crying out in exaltation. The orb then grew in size, faster and faster until it was bigger than the planet Eternia. Eternia was drawn into it, slowly at first, then increasing in speed, until it was engulfed by the orb. The dread orb then rapidly shrunk to a small point, which exploded in a cloud of darkness.

Entrapta and Hordak stared at this image a while, completely dumbfounded at what they just witnessed.

“What _was_ that, Hordak? That did not look like the portal technology the First One’s typically used.” Entrapta stated, looking at the other, her eyes wide.

“I don’t think it was, I believe that…that was magic, Entrapta! It looked like a kind of…dark magic.” Hordak said in disbelief. They stared at each other for a while, uneasy at what they just witnessed and its implications.

Their silence was broken by a voice behind them.

“My brothers! I have more midnight nourishment!”

“AAAACCKKK!!!” Both Hordak and Entrapta shrieked, jumping at the intrusion.

They turned, seeing Wrong Hordak standing there in an apron, holding a tray. On the tray was, of course, tiny snacks.

“My brother,” Hordak began, trying to stay calm, “I appreciate your efforts, but please knock?” Hordak entreated.

“Yes. I apologize, my brother, I’m working on it. Until then, here is your nourishment!” Wrong Hordak said, placing the tray down between them. Then he turned on his heel and quickly exited, off to bake more goodies. Wrong Hordak’s cooking experience with Glimmer aboard Darla had awakened the inner chef in him, and he had taken over the kitchen upon arriving at the Crypto Castle.

“Hmmmm…” Hordak said. “We need to figure out what our next step is. What do we do with this information?”

“I don’t know, Hordak. Magic is outside of my realm of knowledge. Hmmm…We can always ask someone in Mysticor. There is the Queen’s advisor, Micah— he is a powerful sorcerer.” Entrapta said, thoughtfully.

“Yes…yes, good idea. That can wait until morning, my love. Until then, we need our rest. My old clone body can only take so much.” Hordak said, standing up with his hand outstretched.

Entrapta beamed as she rose, using her ponytails to lift her body into Hordak’s arms. She raised her own arms and ponytails in a yawn, then gently settled back with a sigh. This had become their nightly routine.

“Oh, Hordak…” Entrapta said, sleepily.

Hordak made his way to their bed, carrying Entrapta in his arms, who had fallen fast asleep. 

* * *

Adora is running, running through a forest of lights and whispers. It is night and she is in the Whispering Woods. She is momentarily confused as to why she flees when she suddenly felt it— a malicious and cunning presence, chasing her, seeking her. She cannot see the other, but she somehow knows they were above her in the trees, chasing her.

As Adora runs, she holds out her hand to summon her sword and then She-Ra.

“For the honor of Grayskull!” she yells.

Nothing happens.

 _Keep calm, you’re not helpless without She-Ra, Adora,_ she thinks to herself. _I recognize where I am, I’m close to the edge of the forest, once I’m clear whoever is chasing can no longer use the trees. We will be on equal footing. The way to Bright Moon will be on the other side._

As she runs, she feels light above, shining down on her; it is the moon.

 _Wait, that’s no moon,_ she thinks, and then suddenly, _Wait… I’ve done this before, I’m dreaming._ Suddenly the rest of the memory, the dream comes to her. She knows how this ended and does not want to go through that horror again.

 _Might as well let whoever is chasing me find me, maybe I will just wake up then,_ she muses.

She hears it then, a soft rustling in the trees above her.

“Might as well come out and get this over!” she yells, turning around slowly. As she says this, a cloud covers the dread orb in the sky and she is given respite from its horrible light.

She hears someone light of foot land in the soft mossy grass that covered the ground in the Whispering Woods.

She quickly whips around, coming comes up short.

“Catra!” she yells in relief.

Catra smiles back at her and begins to walk forward towards her, arms open wide. Adora laughs and runs to meet her, so happy that this dream will not end as the last one did.

She is wrong, its worse.

Just before Adora reaches Catra, the cloud moves away from the dread orb and Catra is bathed in its light.

Catra’s face suddenly changes, her beautiful eyes becoming bright red, her face bigger and sharper. Catra opens her mouth, now filled with razor sharp teeth and lunges at Adora. She clamps down on her neck, tearing, rending, eating.

“NOOOOOoooarrggggggggaackk.” Adora’s strangled cry runs through the peaceful forest.

* * *

Adora woke from her nightmare, still screaming. She felt arms around her, a body pressed against her back. The arms tried to hold her tightly but Adora struggled against them. The arms let go and Adora spun around.

It was Catra.

Adora screamed louder and pushed her away, falling off the bed. She was still trying to back away when he saw the raw hurt in Catra’s eyes. _Her_ Catra. She stopped backing away and began to sob loudly.

The hurt Adora saw was immediately replaced by concern as Catra bounded off the bed, putting her hands on Adora’s shoulders and looking in her eyes.

“It’s okay Adora! It’s okay, it me! Calm down. You were having another nightmare!” Catra consoled.

Tears shone in Adora’s eyes as she hugged Catra, holding her tight. She let her tears fall, soaking into the fur on Catra’s shoulder. Catra returned the embrace; Adora could feel Catra’s claws gently pressing into her back.

“Tell me, Adora, what happened? Was it the same one as last night?” Catra asked, gently pushing Adora back so she could look into her eyes.

“It started off that way, but then I kind of snapped out of it and realized it was a dream.” Adora started.

She went into complete detail of facing her pursuer, how it was Catra at first, then turning into a monster to rip Adora’s throat out.

“I’m so sorry, Adora... wonder you reacted the way you did.” Catra said. “You know that I would never—”

“Catra, you don’t have to say it, I know.” Adora said, caressing Catra’s cheek.

Adora got up and started to get dressed, putting on her gray pants and white long sleeve undershirt.

“Adora, where are you going? It’s still in the middle of the night?” Catra said as Adora put on her boots.

“I’m not going to be able to go back to bed, Catra, I am just going for a walk, to think.” She said, putting her hair in her distinctive high ponytail.

“I’m coming with you—” Catra started.

“No, Catra, its okay. I’ve messed with your sleep enough, waking you up now, plus you stayed up all the other night. You need your rest.” Adora said as she tried to push Catra toward the bed.

“No, it’s okay –”

“Catra these dreams are really starting to worry me, don’t make me start worrying about you too. Just stay here and relax, please promise me.” Adora said, almost using the same exact line as Catra this morning.

“Okay, fine.” Catra said, sitting down on the bed in a huff.

* * *

Adora made her way through the corridors of Bright Moon, though going for a walk was not her intention. She was heading toward the extension for the Trial, where Catra mentioned the prisoner was being kept. Adora was sick and tired of her nightmares; they made her feel like she was the target of some malicious force, a force that was completely unknown to her. Plus, someone had tried to kill her in the middle of the night, someone who might give her some answers. She just wanted to get to the bottom of this.

Glimmer had filled Adora in on what they found out during the interrogation, that the assassin, Shen they were calling him, was sent by some leader to kill the host of She-Ra. This would enable this leader to “take over the universe”, as it was. _Was it another Horde Prime?_ Glimmer also said that this Shen character seemed like a very reluctant assassin who was relieved that Catra stopped him. 

_Strange, but I can work with that,_ Adora thought to herself.

Adora approached the large doors that led into the dormitory extension, the two Bright Moon guards standing out front letting her pass with no question. Adora was Protector of the Realm after all, and higher ranked than them.

She was about to ask which room the prisoner was in when she heard singing. Adora followed the sound, drawn to the room the song emanated from. The song was strange but beautiful, in a language she never heard, but she felt like she could almost understand it. The meaning was on the tip of her tongue, but continued to elude her.

Just as she went to open the door, the singing abruptly stopped. Opening the door, she saw the prisoner, Shen, sitting in the cylindrical magical force field. He was sitting cross-legged, hands on knees. Adora took him in. The description Glimmer gave her was spot on, but did not prepare her for the reality of the strange tattoos and the wicked scar over his heart.

As she walked toward him, he twitched and a strange intensity came over his eyes. This quickly passed and continued to stare at her, curiosity in his eyes now.

Adora could not think of how to start her interrogation, so she went for what always seemed to work for her when faced with an enemy.

Bravado and cockiness.

Adora put her hand up, speaking the words of activation, summoning her sword, and transformed into She-Ra. She then abruptly entered the magical field and menacingly stood over the prisoner, sword in hand.

“So, I heard you wanted to kill me?” She-Ra/Adora asked in her deepest voice.

Shen backed up on his rear until his back hit the field and he was repelled with a magical shock. He yelped and moved forward, away from the field, still staring up at her. She-Ra/Adora saw amazement and wonder in his eyes, but no fear. There was great sadness and pain in his eyes that seemed beyond the realm of fear. Shen put his head down in resignation, seeming to deflate.

“Yes, that was my intention, but not my desire,” he stated.

“So, you wanted to kill me, but you didn’t want to kill me? That makes no sense.” She-Ra/Adora responded harshly.

Shen didn’t respond but just kept his head down, staring at her feet.

“Well!?” she yelled.

Nothing.

 _Okay, Adora, I don’t think the bully tactic will work, time for something else,_ she thought.

She-Ra/Adora squatted down until her head was almost at Shen’s level, then, gently lifted his chin until she was looking into his eyes.

“Shen, right? That’s what Glimmer said to call you, right?” she asked gently.

“It’s a poor nickname but I’m fine with it. You may call me Shen,” he assented.

“Why did you come to Bright Moon to kill me? Glimmer said you seemed reluctant, and you have just confirmed that. Please make sense of this for me.” She-Ra/Adora said pleadingly.

Shen stared at her for a while, seeming to think. He seemed to be distracted, like he was listening to something.

“My Lord, the Shen’Aan-war, said you must die. He tasked me with the mission. If I did not do it, the result would be worse. If you had to choose between doing a bad thing or letting a much more horrible thing from happening, which would you choose?” Shen asked.

“I would choose the third option, doing neither.” She-Ra/Adora retorted.

“Ha! If only it were that simple. There is no third choice for me! You have _no_ idea what you’re talking about!” Shen responded angrily.

“Then help me understand, Shen. Explain it to me.” She-Ra/Adora implored.

Shen looked to the side as if thinking, the same distracted look in his eyes.

“I have…another…inside me…” he said, clutching at the scar on his chest.

“Like a dark side? We all have our dark side Shen, we all have our demons.” She-Ra/Adora said.

“No, this is not some symbolic description for my darker nature. This _demon_ is REAL.” Shen looked at She-Ra/Adora, a haunted look in his eyes.

She-Ra/Adora looked into his eyes, seeing the sincerity there. Either he was crazy or telling the truth, something told her the latter as she gazed down at the scar; she had an idea.

“Shen, I want you to hold still while I try something, Can I put my hand on your chest?” She-Ra/Adora asked.

Shen looked into her eyes, and the distracted look became more intense.

“Yes!” he said through gritted teeth.

She-Ra/Adora closed her eyes, summoning her healing abilities, and she began to glow. When she opened her eyes, they were burning with a bright, pure light. Shen gazed into those eyes with his mouth open, completely enraptured.

She-Ra/Adora placed her glowing hand on Shen’s chest. The tattoos surrounding the scar seemed to brighten with a cold light, as if trying to bar the way for She-Ra’s healing light.

She-Ra/Adora focused on the scar, felt the pain of it making, then went deeper. She felt Shen’s inner being; trapped, tormented, hurting, but beyond that, his soul was strong, and bright like a sun. There was something attached to his bright soul, like a sunspot, but darker and more sinister. As she focused on the spot, she immediately felt the Other’s presence. Ancient, evil, blood-thirsty, and full of hate, it immediately clawed out at her in defense, throwing her consciousness out of Shen and back into herself.

She-Ra/Adora was thrown past the barrier and onto the floor, instantly transforming back into Adora. Adora sat there, upright but leaning back on her hands, legs splayed out, staring at Shen in shock. Shen had leapt up and was standing by the barrier wall, concern on his face.

“Are you okay, She-Ra?” he asks, not knowing that there was a difference between her and Adora.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m okay. I felt it... it was horrible. I believe you, Shen.” Adora waved off his concern.

Adora stood and walked back toward the barrier. She stopped at the edge, not wanting to enter.

“You don’t have to call me She-Ra. Please just call me Adora.” She gently told Shen.

“Adora, okay.” He replied. Suddenly Shen seemed to focus inward. “I don’t know what you did... but…the Other…seems to be suppressed now. Asleep.” Shen looked gratefully at Adora.

“You’re welcome, but I don’t think I want to keep doing that,” Adora said with a weak grin. “It felt like it was going to grab me.”

“Yes, they did not like me talking to you. They were screaming at me when you were about to put your hand upon me.” Shen admitted.

“Why did you let me?” Adora asked.

Shen had another distant look on his face now, not haunted this time, but pleasant. “I heard another voice in my head... it was a memory, someone I loved, who is gone now.”

“What were they telling you? This memory.” Adora asked.

“To open my heart.” Shen had a warm grin on his face now.

Shen and Adora shared a smile; a spark of a connection seemed to have formed.

“Ah but it won’t last, the Other will be awake again, back to normal,” Shen said, defeated tone now.

“Is that what it is called, the Other? What is it exactly?” Adora asks.

“I call it the ‘Other’, but it has a name for itself that I refuse to use. It is a grandiose self-given name, but kind of apt.” Shen said. “It calls itself the Demon-Heart.”

“Demon-Heart?” Adora grimaced. “Why?”

“Because that is what it is,” Shen said. He then began to tell his tale to Adora.

“My mother died when I was young, I was raised by my father, the Shen’Aan-war—”

“Wait, so the guy that wants me dead and wants to take over the universe is your _Father_?!” Adora exclaimed, incredulous. Adora was sitting cross-legged now, listening to Shen.

“Yes, I’m sorry, that is correct. Adora, please, don’t interrupt me. I’m really bad at telling stories as it is.” Shen pleaded.

“Whoops, sorry, I’ll be quiet,” Adora said, shrugging her shoulders with an apologetic smile.

“My father was very distant and strict with me. He felt that I was weak and soft-hearted. The first and only time he brought me on a hunting trip, he was enraged when I couldn’t kill our quarry. It was a young Sha’Ha-we, a beautiful creature. I had it in the sights of my spike-lance and couldn’t understand why we had to kill it. What was the need for such a merciless kill? 

“My father was angry and said something stupid like ‘if you’re not the hunter then you’re the hunted.’ Or was it ‘the purpose of the weak is to be dominated by the strong’? It was one of those sayings— tired, hateful things he would always quote to me.”

“My father sat me down to have a talk after that, to try and instill his values into me. He told me that not only do we reside in a dark universe and live on a dark planet, but we were also meant to live dark lives— it was the absolute truth of life. Love, friendship, compassion were all lies meant to keep the strong weak and that we— he and I— were the strong. We were meant to use our power to dominate, for why did we have it if not for that purpose?”

“I became very depressed after he told me that. I could not believe that this was true. Even though the evidence of its truth was all around me, the dark world I lived in and its oppression, I just knew it was not true. I can’t tell you how I knew this, I just did. I knew then that I would never have any place in my father’s empire. I became disillusioned and lost interest in fulfilling my duties as Prince. I became listless and started engaging in stupid frivolities to pass the time when I met someone, someone special I fell in love with.”

“This person, his name was Shen’Dara. He was part of the rebellion, but he taught me that there was me another way, one of friendship, hope and love.”

“So, I joined the rebellion with him in secret. It was a rebellion against the Shen’Aan-war, my father, and the power he had sided with. We had fallen asleep after one of our missions; these were various acts of sabotage and theft to thwart my father, it was then that the unthinkable happened.”

“We had been betrayed, and my father’s agents came for us. We had an escape route, but the agents were already inside, so someone had to delay them. I volunteered for this job, for I foolishly thought at the time that I would face no real repercussions as the Prince. The others would be killed on the spot, so I felt I was the best choice. Shen’Dara begged me not to do it, but he relented after I refused to go with them. We said goodbye there, and shared the last kiss we would ever share in this lifetime.”

“I fought the agents, the sword lessons Shen’Dara had taught me enabling my friends time to escape, but I was quickly overcome and captured. I was bound and brought before my father. Instead of the anger and disappointment that I expected, he seemed not to care, as if his own son betraying him was inconsequential. I was to face repercussions though. My father said that henceforth, I was no longer the Prince or his son, and I was to be given to the Death-Binders. They had discovered something special and needed a subject. This subject had to be someone with meaning, who better than the Shen’Aan-war’s son?”

“The Death-Binders were a hideous group of individuals. I guess you would call them sorcerers, like your Micah and Castaspella, but evil. They brought me deep into the castle dungeons, where they delved into their secrets. There, they conducted their ritual.”

“They used their magic to paralyze me. I had to watch, fully awake and aware, as they used a malevolent dagger to cut my chest open and remove my heart. The pain was great, as you could imagine, but I could not move or scream in pain. The pain was so intense that I was waiting to die and be free from it.... but I did not die. I watched as they brought the most hideous thing I’ve ever seen over to me— it was a beating black heart that pulsed with an inner red light. They placed it in my chest and bound it to me using their magic. It became my heart, beating inside me, pumping my own blood through its hideous mass and back into my body. Only as they were stitching me back up, was I then finally allowed to pass out.”

“When I awoke, I was in a cell designed to hold me and my new passenger. It started to speak to me there. I thought I was losing my mind at first, but slowly began to realize that what had happened to me was far worse than insanity. The Other, as I began to call it, explained to me the nature of our new relationship; how it would give me power and in return, it would need my body to sate its hunger to kill and cause destruction.”

“I rebelled against this, of course, refusing to allow myself for this purpose, but it was a fruitless fight. The first time the Death-Binders summoned the Other from within was also the first time I was sent out to hunt and kill for the Shen’Aan-war. The Other took over my body, and I had to watch through my own eyes as the Other, the Demon-Heart, went out into the night, to hunt and kill rebels. To kill my friends. I was a hapless prisoner within my own body.”

“I watched my friends in the rebellion be hunted down and killed, slowly over time, for they were well hidden. This culminated in the last hunt, the hunt for Shen’Dara, the last rebel. The one person who I loved more than anything, the one person who showed me that life need not be dark, the one person who opened my heart, died... with my hands around his throat. I almost lost my mind…maybe I already have…” Shen’s voice trailed off as he put his face into his hands, starting to weep. Adora stood up quickly and walked toward Shen through the magical barrier and kneeled next to him, wrapping her arms around him.

“I’m so sorry, Shen. That is the most horrible thing I have ever heard.” Adora said, tears in her eyes. Shen tried to stifle his tears as he continued his tale.

“With the rebellion dead, I was placed back into my cell until I was needed again. That was when I was awoken to kill you. I believed that I had to do it or they would send the Other, and they would have if I refused. I’m trapped, Adora! I have no control, I’m damned!” Shen cried.

“I’m sorry if this is an ignorant question, but can’t you just run away or hide from these Death-Binders?” Adora asked.

“No, that doesn’t work. I’ve tried. The Other is always there inside me, waiting to trip me up and escape. You see, dark emotions like hate and great pain can be used to summon the Other. The Other is good at slowly beating me down until they get the appropriate response out of me. It is impossible to escape them when they are always there, inside my head.”

“I have learned over time that I can subdue the Other by thinking of happy memories over and over again and maintain my focus to keep them from escaping. This does not always work though.” Shen explained.

“Your focus? Like constantly thinking happy thoughts? What about when you’re asleep? Or unconscious like when... Catra... knocked you out...” Adora said the last part sheepishly.

“No, it’s not a mental focus. It’s hard to describe, almost like my very being contains the Other.” Shen said, trying to choose the correct words.

Adora remembered Shen’s soul shining bright like a sun, and the barely perceptible dark spot within it.

“I think I understand, Shen. Go on.” Adora encouraged.

“I tried ending myself as well, but that does not work either for I cannot die. Every time I do, I just go back to the Death-Binders who put me back together and send me back out. The best place is to be in the cell, locked away in the dungeons of my Father’s castle. It is the safest place, for everyone else. Adora, I see that you are a great and kind person. All the people I have met here are, and I fear you are all in horrible danger while I’m held captive here.”

“We have magic, this cell... we can hold you safe while we figure this out,” Adora said, trying to placate him.

“No, I don’t think it is enough, Adora. The Other is powerful. If they got out, they would destroy everyone here and leave this beautiful place in ruins.” Shen said, pleading with her.

Adora suddenly thought back to her dream; Bright Moon ruined, the corpses, Catra…

“What do you think we should do, Shen?” Adora asked.

Shen thought about it for a moment. “You need to get me out of Bright Moon. _You need to kill me_. Once I’m dead, I will just go back to the corpse-pools. I will be put back together and sent back but by then, maybe you could put up a blockade around your planet.” She suggested.

Adora was absolutely horrified by his response and backed away from him slightly.

“I’m not going to _kill_ you, Shen, _that’s horrible!_ Sent back to the _corpse-pools_?” Adora was incredulous.

“You don’t want to know,” Shen replied, the haunted look in his eyes again.

Adora placed her hands on either side of Shen’s face, looking into his eyes with absolute certainty in hers.

“Shen, there is always a ‘third choice’, I’m an expert on finding it!” Adora let out a weak laugh. “I won’t let you suffer. I won’t let this demon hurt anyone. I promise!”

Shen stared into Adora’s eyes and saw the pure goodness in her, her absolute focus of will. He slowly allowed himself to believe her, to believe the person he was sent to kill could save him.

“Okay,” Shen said, almost peacefully.

* * *

Shen continued to sit cross-legged in his prison, long after Adora left him, focusing on positive memories to maintain the barrier holding the Other in place. Adora had actually convinced him that there was hope, and he was instilled with a sense of purpose, determined to do everything he could to hold out until she returned. Before she left, Adora said she had to talk to someone who might know how to help him, someone named “Madame Razz”.

Shen remembered how angry the Other was before She-Ra had placed her hands on him. They had screamed of betrayal, of how he would pay. He was loath for them to awaken and wanted to be ready.

It was an hour into this, that the Other finally awoke.

Shen felt it, like a small sliver of ice in his heart; the Other was angry. They seemed to growl, then they spoke.

 _“That was a mistake, Shen’Thran-zanmar’eth.”_ the Other said coldly.

Shen froze, the Other never referred to him by his true name before, he always called him “my Prince.”

 _“Betraying your father was one thing, but to betray **us** , is another.”_ the Other stated in a deadly voice. _“I didn’t exactly come with a set of instructions when I was bound to you, did I? You really don’t know all the **rules**.”_

“What are you talking about? I owe you nothing. There was nothing to betray!” Shen replied.

“ ** _Wrong_**.” the Other replied.

Shen started to feel the bonds holding the Other unraveling. He doubled up on his efforts to re-establish them. His chest was starting to glow with an inner red light.

 _“By betraying us, you broke a sacred rule, and thus, lost all right to keep us bound.”_ the Other said, cackling.

“NOOOOOO!!!!” Shen screamed.

The light was getting brighter now, red and intense, his ribcage, lungs and veins showed in the light; in the center, a beating heart.

 _“Ahhhhhhh...so many delicious morsels here, and that stone, I shall have to visit it….”_ the Other said, in absolute rapture.

The light became more and more intense as darkness seemed to seep out of Shen’s eyes, ears and pores, encapsulating him and forming a shell of blackness over his entire body.

Shen closed his eyes.

The Demon-Heart opened them.


	7. Chapter 6: Flowers for Madame Razz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Madame Razz remembers a hurtful memory and shares a day with Swift Wind.
> 
> The friendship squad fights a terrible foe, the Demon-Heart.

**Chapter 6: Flowers for Madame Razz**

It was late at night in the Whispering Woods when Madame Razz returned to her small cottage, contentedly humming to herself, a large basket full of Moon Asters in one hand. Nighttime was the best time to pick the beautiful flowers, especially when the moon was out; the Moon Asters were known to make a sweet ghostly chime when the moon shone upon them. The moon was full tonight and the flower’s song floated through the Whispering Woods, drawing Madame Razz to a meadow with a large patch of the light blue flowers glowing in the moonlight.

Razz sought these flowers, in particular, tonight, for Moon Aster petals made the most soothing tea. That tea could be used to calm a melancholic heart which she had in abundance that evening. 

The day had begun pleasant enough, with bright sun streaming through the window and birds chirping, when that strange, talking horse popped his head through her door to greet her. A strange beast, he was all white with rainbow wings and a long, pointed horn on his forehead. He was very beautiful... but kind of annoying. He came by from time to time to see how she was doing, which she found touching in her ancient heart. 

“Morning Madame Razz!” the winged beast greeted.

“Aghhhh!” She exclaimed, whacking him on the snout with her broom. He was ALWAYS startling her.

“Ouch, Razz! Stop, it’s me! _Swift Wind_!” the creature said dramatically. “Remember, Swift Wind? I always come by and you feed me apples?”

“Ah, yes, yes... Madame Razz remembers now. Mara’s horse.” Razz said, slowly.

“Adora…Adora, remember? Also, _I’m nobody’s horse_!” Swift Wind’s retorted.

“Yes, yes, you’re always telling Madame Razz that,” Razz says quietly, her memories finally clicking into place.

“I’m Swift Wind, brave freedom fighter, fighting to free my oppressed brothers and sisters, one stable at a time!” Swift Wind continued.

Madame Razz froze, hanging on to a piece of what Swift Wind just said.

“What did you say?” Razz asked.

“I fight for the freedom of my oppressed brothers and sisters!” Swift Wind repeated. Seeing the faraway look on Razz’s face, he continued dryly, “I free other horses from stables. It’s like, my thing.”

“Brothers and sisters… _sister_ …” Razz continued, still seeming far away. For some reason, today of all days, the word sister resonated with her, bringing back old memories. She began to feel very melancholic.

“You okay, Razz?” Swift Wind said, now concerned. He entered the house through the door and stood next to Madame Razz.

Razz snapped out of her memories. “Oh what? Yes, yes, I’m fine. Madame Razz was just thinking about someone.” Razz said.

“Who?” asked Swift Wind.

“Who what?” she replied.

“Who were you thinking of just now?” Swift Wind asked.

“Madame Razz wasn’t thinking of anyone, what are you talking about? Crazy talking horse…” Razz exclaimed, forgetting her previous train of thought.

“Never mind.” Swift Wind said, annoyed but used to Madame Razz’s memory lapses.

“Anyway, why do you always come here to visit Madame Razz? Why aren’t you with Adora? Why don’t you go find a nice horse friend?” Razz asked.

“Adora doesn’t need me as much now. Most of her new adventures take her out to space where I can’t follow her, and when she’s home she spends a lot of alone time with Catra. Catra, Catra, Catra!” Swift Winds exclaimed plaintively. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for Adora, I really am. I just miss our time together.” His shoulders sagged for a moment, but he shook his head and quickly changed the subject.

“Anyway, I like checking up on you. You feed me apples! Maybe we can hang out more together? I mean you looked a little down there, how about we spend the day together? Maybe a sleepover too?”

Madame Razz looked thoughtful. _Hmmm... do I really want this talking horse hanging around me all day? Well, he can fly…_ She thought.

“Okay, whatever, you can stay with Madame Razz for a bit. We will spend the day together and then you can sleep here for the night... Madame Razz doesn’t really sleep so you have to be able to sleep with her puttering around in here, though.” She conceded.

“Deal!” Swift Wind exclaimed.

Madame Razz and Swift Wind spent a pleasant day together cleaning up Razz’s shack, picking apples, and watching butterflies. They even flew through the clouds or in formation with the many strange and beautiful flying creatures that inhabited Etheria. Madame Razz found that she enjoyed her new friend’s company, for the sadness she felt earlier was still with her.

After dinner, Swift Wind decided to retire for the day. Razz found some old blankets and made him a make-shift bed in the corner of her shack. She left him sleeping there to go pick Moon Aster petals.

Razz entered her cottage and went to her stove, filling the kettle with water for tea. Using a mortar and pestle, she crushed the petals when she felt her melancholy rise up again. At the heart of this blossoming sadness, a memory and a name came to the forefront.

“Zzar,” Razz whispered to herself. “Oh, my poor, dear, sweet sister. Zzar, why did you do it?”

Razz continued her preparations, filling a tea ball with the crushed petals and placing it in a steaming cup of hot water. She let it steep for a while, the hot water taking on a bright light blue hue.

Razz was about to take a sip of the hot tea when a sensation hit her, like ice stabbing her heart. She dropped her cup on the floor where it smashed to pieces, hot tea splashing her. The burning tea did not seem to affect her for the cold feeling had spread from her heart to the rest of her body. Razz let out a cry as she doubled over, clutching her chest.

Swift Wind was startled awake. “Razz! Razz! What’s the matter?” He said, rushing to her side.

Razz did not respond to his questions. “No…No…here? No, not here, please…” She moaned, still holding her chest.

“Razz, talk to me, what’s happening?” Swift Wind pleaded.

Razz focused her gaze on him, determination in her eyes. “Adora…Adora is in trouble. We must hurry, Swift Wind!”

Razz summoned her broom and raced out the door, Swift Wind in tow. Once outside, she again used her telekinesis to lift herself onto his back.

“Where are we going?” Swift Wind asked, spreading his wings.

“To Bright Moon! HURRY!” Razz exclaimed, panicked.

Swift Wind lifted into the air, straight in the direction of Bright Moon, his rainbow wings driving them as hard as they could.

* * *

Castaspella was up late, rummaging for leftovers in Bright Moon’s kitchens. She couldn’t sleep; she was too excited about the previous day’s events.

 _I finally did it! I finally got the nerve up to ask her out and she said yes!_ Castaspella thought over and over in her head, humming contentedly to herself. 

She found a piece of cake began to pick at it with a fork, taking tiny bites while dancing around the kitchen, still engrossed in her memories.

She had been walking the grounds of Bright Moon with Micah, discussing the earlier interrogation and its implications, when she spotted _her_ in the distance. She was standing with two royal guards, a short dark-skinned female and a larger, green-skinned reptilian one, and appeared to be giving them a lecture.

_General Juliet._

Castaspella quickly looked away, her face flushed. Micah had stopped talking, and looked at his sister, concern on his face.

“Cassy? What’s wrong?” he asked, using her old nickname.

“What? Oh, nothing, nothing, it’s nothing…” Castaspella responded, trying to be nonchalant.

“Cassy, you’re blushing like a little girl who got her hand caught in the cookie jar!” Micah teased, looking over at what had caught his sister’s attention. “Ah... I see.” He said knowingly.

“You see what?” Castaspella snapped at her brother’s tone.

“Don’t think I haven’t noticed the way you look at the General, Cassy. Why don’t you go speak to her? I mean, come on, you’re the head sorceress of Mystacor, surely you can handle asking someone out for a date?” Micah said.

Castaspella blushed even harder, looking away.

“Cassy, you’re acting like a little girl, like when we were young and you had a crush on one of our classmates. Stop acting like a baby and just go talk to her!” Micah exclaimed.

“Fine!” Castaspella responded, sick of her brother’s badgering. “If only to get away from you and your nagging!”

Castaspella headed off toward Juliet, exasperated, her brother chuckling behind her.

Juliet had just finished lecturing the two misfit guards on royal etiquette when Castaspella had reached her, exasperation replaced by nervousness. The two guards walked away, sheepish in their chastisement.

“Ah, head Sorceress Castaspella. What can I do for you?” Juliet asked, all business.

“Oh, General, please call me Castaspella... or Cassy if you’re so inclined.” Castaspella stammered out nervously.

“Oh, sure, Castaspella…er…Cassy.” Juliet had said, unsure of using the nickname.

“Oh, it’s a wonderful day, isn’t it?” Castaspella asked, beginning to panic.

Juliet looked around at the clear blue sky, then back over at Castaspella. “Sure, it’s nice, I suppose.” She agreed.

Castaspella just stared at Juliet, the panic almost making her burst at the seams, her face red.

“Are you okay, Cassy? Did you just come over here to ask about the weather?” Juliet asked, confused.

The panic spilled out of Castaspella in a torrent. “Anychanceyouwouldliketogooutsometime?” She rushed out in one breath.

“I beg your pardon?” Juliet asked.

Castaspella took a deep breath and shyly tried again... “General, I wanted to know if you’re interested... that is, if you would ever be willing to go out.... for dinner or something? Or whatever.” Castaspella looked down, wringing her hands in nervousness.

Castaspella’s jumbled words began to make sense and Juliet smiled, a little blush of her own forming on her dark skin. “I think I would like that, Cassy.” She responded softly, all business gone.

Castaspella quickly looked up in surprise, then beamed.

“Oh, and Cassy?” Juliet had said.

“Yes?” Castaspella responded dreamily.

“Please drop the General, call me Juliet.” Juliet stated, a beautiful smile forming on her face.

Castaspella was still reminiscing on this memory when she heard something in the distance, coming from the Trial Extension.

It was a roar, loud, piercing and terrible. She had never heard anything like it in all her travels; it made her blood run cold.

“What in the name of Etheria was that?” she exclaimed.

Castaspella dropped her cake and began to run out of the kitchen toward the Trial extension. As she ran through the halls, she was joined by guards also heading in the same direction. They finally came to the Trail extension main doors and stopped, seeing more guards trying to bar the door.

There was a terrible banging coming from the other side. The doors were thick wood and huge, but something was bashing into them, creating dents. The roaring continued from the other side, mixed with hideous shrieks of anger. Castaspella looked over to see Juliet helping bar the door and approached her.

“Juliet, what’s going on? Is it the prisoner? What is in there?” Castaspella asked, panic taking over her voice.

“I don’t know what’s in there, but it’s weird and pissed off, whatever it is!” Juliet grunted, struggling with the door.

Suddenly the door exploded inward, sending everyone flying back. Castaspella, Juliet and the guards collected themselves and sat back up, looking at the open passage where the double doors previously stood. A figure stood there, a dread figure from their worst nightmares.

The figure was of an average Etherian man’s height, humanoid, slender and black. In the center of its chest, an eerie red light pulsed like a heartbeat. The figure’s rib cage and internal organs could be seen through the red light, but that was not the worst. The worst was its head. Flaming red eyes sat in a horrible leering face, its mouth hung open, exposing sharp red needle teeth. On top of its head, black smoke-like hair stood erect, dancing back and back and forth like a flame. Long arms were held out to each side, hands ending in sharp talons. 

It saw them and screeched as it moved toward them slowly, its body moving strangely, jerkily as if out of step with time. Castaspella screamed and erected a magical barrier that just barely held it at arm’s length, just barely. As it fought against the barrier, Castaspella could feel her grip slipping; the figure had immense strength and power.

Juliet and the guards gathered behind Castaspella, drawing their weapons, unsure if they could hurt this creature. It lashed at the barrier, clawing, kicking and biting it.

Juliet turned to a subordinate guard. “Sound the alarm. Hurry!” She yelled.

“Get the Royal Advisor, Micah, too!” yelled Castaspella, through clenched teeth.

The guard turned and ran. Mere moments after he left, the clanging chimes of the Bright Moon alarm resonated loudly.

* * *

Adora entered Bright Moon from the Whispering Woods, her search for Madame Razz fruitless. She had arrived at the shack where the old lady lived and peered in, seeing only her friend and faithful steed Swift Wind sleeping in the corner. Not wanting to wake him and deal with a million questions, she left and returned to Bright Moon.

She was almost frantic now, remembering Shen’s desperation and the horrible presence inside of him lashing out at her. She had to find someone who would know how to deal with something like this, to help Shen and banish this evil. Adora felt as if she was running out of time.

She was about to head toward the dormitories Micah resided in when she heard the alarm. Dread filled every fibre of Adora’s being.

“Oh no, I’m too late!” Adora cried as she ran across the grounds toward the Trail extension.

* * *

Catra awoke to the sound of the alarm, instantly looking for Adora. The bed was empty.

Catra groaned. _Adora, you were supposed to just ‘go for a walk’_. She thought to herself.

She sprang out of bed, dressed quickly and secured her gold headpiece; she was ready for a fight. Before she left the room, she closed her eyes and concentrated.

“Melog…I think we need your help…please come.” Catra pulsed through their bond.

She felt an affirmation pulsed back Melog was far away but she felt they were coming swiftly. 

As Catra left her room, she saw Bow and Glimmer leaving the room they shared, looking dazed.

“Catra, is this your doing?” Glimmer groaned, wiping sleep from her eyes.

“No such luck, Sparkles, I just woke up. Although I think Adora might be involved. Knowing her, she is probably in the middle of this.” Catra said.

“So where is the action? This alarm is coming from everywhere with no clear source.” Bow stated.

Just then, a Bright Moon guard ran down the hall toward them, panicked and out of breath.

“Your majesty! You’re needed in the Trial extension! The Head Sorceress Castaspella and the Royal Advisor Micah are holding back…” The guard broke off.

“What? Holding what?” Glimmer asked, impatiently.

“They’re holding back some kind of monster.” The guard gulped.

Glimmer, Bow and Catra dashed off down the corridors, toward the hall that would take them to the Trial extension.

* * *

Castaspella was weakening. The creature on the other side of her barrier was too strong and she could not hold it back, even with the power her brother added.

“Cassy, it’s too strong. We need to fall back.” Micah growled to his sister, arms outstretched.

“How will we hold it back _and_ retreat, Micah? This thing is too strong. These guards will be killed!” Castaspella cried in desperation. She was thinking of Juliet holding her ground behind her.

Before Micah could answer, the creature answered for him, it stopped fighting and seemed to hold the barrier in a grip of its own. It tensed and flexed, a wild grin on its hideous face as the magical barrier started to crack. To everyone’s horror, the cracks spread until they reached the source of the barrier— Micah and Castaspella.

The barrier exploded.

* * *

Adora was almost to the Trial extension when a portion of it exploded, throwing her back. Adora rose to her feet and stuck out her hand. 

“For the honor of Grayskull!” she shouted, transforming into She-Ra. She cautiously approached the gap caused by the explosion in the wall.

“Adora!” a voice cried behind her; it was Catra.

Adora/She-Ra turned, seeing Catra, Bow and Glimmer running toward her from the other side of the grounds.

She then heard a growl coming from her original destination, and saw a figure jumping down from the hole.

It was a vision from her worst nightmares; all black darkness, pulsing red light, teeth and claws. It saw her and screamed. There was only one thing it could be. _This is what Shen was warning her about,_ Adora thought.

“Shen? Shen, I’m so, so sorry... I’m too late!” She-Ra/Adora cried, tears brimming.

Then the creature spoke, its voice screeching like nails across stone. “THERE IS NO SHEN, ONLY THE DEMON-HEART!!!”

It flew at her then, jerking and speeding up like it was out of sync with time. Adora/She-Ra raised her sword and charged, screaming at the top of her lungs. They met in a clash of blade thrusts and slashing claws. She-Ra/Adora immediately went on the defense, the Demon-Heart’s fury and power immense. Demon-Heart broke her guard and backhanded her in the face, sending Adora/She-Ra careening back, her sword dropping.

“Adora!” Catra screamed, finally reaching the battle. With her speed, she was way ahead of Bow and Glimmer. 

Catra immediately flew at the Demon-Heart in defense of her love. She did a front flip up and over it and landed on its shoulders, slashing its head and face with her claws. It snarled and shook her off and she landed behind it in a crouch, giving it her most fearsome snarl in return.

The Demon-Heart turned slowly and menacingly toward her. When it faced her fully, it drew in a breath and exhaled in a roar of such fury Catra cringed back, ears lowered.

She-Ra/Adora had since got back to her feet, sword in hand, and saw what was about to happen.

“CATRA, NOOOO!!!” She-Ra/Adora screamed, running forward.

The Demon-Heart sped forward in its strange jerking motion, too fast even for someone like Catra. It backhanded her with such force, she flew back into the Trial extension wall. She bounced back off the wall and slid to the ground, her headpiece flying off. She rose momentarily on shaky arms and then fell back down again, still.

“CATRAAAA!” She-Ra/Adora screamed, horror in her voice.

The Demon-Heart turned to her, laughing maliciously.

“THAT WAS YOUR LOVER-PET, WASN’T IT? I THINK I MIGHT HAVE BROKEN HERRRRR!” it said, mock sorrow in its voice.

She-Ra/Adora screamed in absolute fury as she tore toward the Demon-Heart, sword raised to strike it down.

As she brought the sword down, the Demon-Heart caught it in its claw, halting its descent. With its other hand, it punched She-Ra/Adora in the chest, alighting her heart-rune and sending her flying back. She landed on her back again, groaning, out matched by her enemy.

By then, Bow and Glimmer had reached the battle, horrified at what was happening to their friends.

“Bow, I’m sorry, I don’t think your arrows will do the trick here. Go check on Catra!” Glimmer yelled. Bow nodded, trying to run around the Demon-Heart to his fallen friend.

The Demon-Heart tracked Bow and was about to lunge at him when Glimmer blasted it with her power.

“Hey, ugly! Try me on for size!” She taunted.

The Demon-Heart screamed and charged at Glimmer. Once it was almost upon her, she teleported to another location, blasting it again. It whirled and screamed in fury as Glimmer kept this up; for the moment she was distracting the deadly foe.

Bow reached Catra, gently turning her over and cradling her in his arms. She slowly opened her eyes, looking up at him.

“Bow?” Catra wheezed then coughed, a small amount of blood dribbling down her mouth.

“I’m here, I got you, Catra. Stay with me.” Bow cajoled, then trying to distract her, “Hey what is this ‘Bow’ nonsense? What happened to ‘Punchy’?”

“I don’t know, I feel like _I_ deserve that title now.” Catra wheezed with a smile.

Bow gave a small laugh, relieved his friend’s sense of humor was still intact. He looked up as he felt water drops on his face; it was rain. Clouds had slowly moved in late in the night, covering the sky and blocking the moon, and it had begun to rain hard.

“Oh no!” Catra gasped.

She-Ra/Adora had since risen unsteadily to her feet, sword in hand, watching the deadly dance between Glimmer and the Demon-Heart. The Demon-Heart was furious at its elusive prey, screaming in rage every time Glimmer teleported away.

The Demon-Heart suddenly stilled and closed its red burning eyes, clawed hands clenched at either side.

“What’s wrong, ugly? Are you frustrated?” Glimmer taunted with a laugh.

The Demon-Heart opened its eyes and smiled, suddenly moving so quickly, it appeared to teleport. It grabbed Glimmer by the throat and lifted her off the ground, cackling in her face. Glimmer attempted to teleport away, but she screamed, turning hazy and red, glitching like she had after Shadow Weaver cursed her. She was completely at the mercy of her enemy.

“GOT YOU, LITTLE PEST. YOU LOOK TASTY!” it said, opening its mouth wide to clamp down on Glimmer.

Before it could consume Glitter, a snarling shape landed on its back, slashing and tearing. The Demon-Heart dropped Glimmer, who immediately teleported away, appearing next to She-Ra. She saw the Demon-Heart fighting madly with a biting purple and blue biped.

“Melog!” Glimmer cried.

The two fought viciously, tearing at each other with no thought to defense. They suddenly broke apart with a cry of pain from Melog, who limped away, favoring one paw. The Demon-Heart was about to finish the job when Melog vanished, eliciting a hiss from its enemy.

Two bright blasts of magical energy unexpectedly blasted into the Demon-Heart from the direction of the hole in the Trail extension. Castaspella and Micah had recovered from the explosion, mostly unhurt and no worse for wear. They were ready to join the fight. 

The Demon-Heart screamed angrily at the thought of being ensnared in their magical net again. It turned back to She-Ra and Glimmer, but something new caught its attention. It roared in rage, heading toward it in a mad sprint, intent on destroying its new goal.

“Adora, it’s heading toward the Moonstone!” Glimmer yelled.

“Glimmer, teleport us into its path. It’s going too fast to catch on foot!” She-Ra/Adora cried.

Glimmer grasped She-Ra and instantly teleported them in the path of the charging Demon-Heart. It halted, hissing menacingly.

“Uh, Adora...? Maybe this plan needed a little more thought?” Glimmer asked, falteringly.

She-Ra/Adora didn’t respond, shrieking in rage and charging at her enemy, who in turn, charged at her. They collided again, sword to claw, She-Ra/Adora fighting in pure anger, hacking at her enemy with all her might.

The sword was again knocked out of her hands, and they brawled, rolling in the mud, the rain saturating the ground. She-Ra/Adora furiously kicked and punched her enemy, who slashed at her torso. She-Ra/Adora ignored this pain, desperate to destroy her hateful foe. She wrapped her hands around its black neck, trying to strangle it.

The Demon-Heart pulled its legs in and kicked out at She-Ra, breaking her grip on its neck and sending her flying back. She landed with a wet splash on the muddy ground; she was bloody, completely covered in mud, and drained of energy. She-Ra/Adora tried to rise, but fell back down, transforming back into Adora.

The Demon-Heart rose with a chuckle and strode toward the fallen Adora.

“AHHHH, THAT WAS A GOOD FIGHT! THE BEST ONE I’VE EVER HAD! I SHALL SAVOR EATING YOU!” it grinned, reaching out as it approached her. 

Adora was conscious but weak. She tried to scramble backwards in the mud, unable to escape her doom. 

“Adora!” a voice cried from above.

The Demon-Heart and Adora both turned in unison as a rainbow-winged horse landed near them, a small figure on its back.

“Madame Razz?” Adora whispered, incredulous. “No! It’s too strong for you!”

Madame Razz leaped from Swift Wind’s back, broom in hand. She held it out like a staff as she approached the Demon-Heart.

“NOOOOOO…ONE OF YOUUUU???” the Demon-Heart cried, as if recognizing her. There was fear in its voice.

Adora watched as the small old woman she knew seemed to change before her eyes. The short squat woman became taller and thinner until she was as tall as the hologram of Light Hope that Adora remembered. She appeared to be wearing a large robe made of stars, a hood up over her head. Her face had changed as well, becoming strange, cold and very alien. It was blue and faceted, like gems, and two bottomless eyes gazed out; Adora could see infinitesimal galaxies within. Madame Razz raised the arm that held the broom. However, instead of a broom, it had become a long thin black staff, the head a bright light, like a fallen star. She raised the staff above her and beams of rainbow-colored light streaked down from the sky, alighting on the end of the staff. She then lowered the staff and pointed it at the Demon-Heart.

“NOOOOOOOO!!!” the Demon-Heart screamed.

A bright ribbon of pure starlight shot forth from the staff, encircling the Demon-Heart. 

It shrieked hatefully as it was encircled and banded, with more and more ribbons wrapping it until its entire body was covered. Its cries were slowly muffled as it was wrapped up, the hideous red light of its heart dimming through its bindings. Finally, its cries ceased, and the ribbons burst apart, revealing a naked young man lying on his stomach. It was Shen, transformed back to his own self, his tattoos burning bright reacting with hate at being touched by such wondrous magic.

Adora looked back to Madame Razz, who was once again the small old woman holding a broom, a melancholy expression on her face.

Madame Razz moved past Adora and approached the fallen form of Shen. As she passed, Adora could hear her whisper.

“This was you’re doing, wasn’t it, Zzar?” the old woman said, sadly.

Razz knelt by Shen’s fallen form. Somehow, he was still alive, yet was unconscious and breathing. She placed an old, withered hand over the scar on his chest.

“You poor, poor boy.” She shook her head.

Before Adora could comment, Glimmer practically slid into her, wrapping her arms around her.

“Adora!” Glimmer cried.

“I’m okay, Glimmer, I’m okay,” Adora replied, hugging her friend. “Catra! Glimmer, take us to Bow and Catra!” She suddenly exclaimed.

Glimmer nodded and they disappeared, reappearing next to Bow and Catra. Micah and Castaspella had joined them, inspecting Catra’s injuries with magic. Adora knelt by her love; Catra was conscious and still wheezing, blood still dribbling down the side of her mouth.

“Hey, Adora!” Catra wheezed.

“Oh Catra, Catra.... you brave idiot!” Adora said, tears in her eyes.

Micah looked over at Adora after completing his inspection. “She has five broken ribs on the right side, as well as a punctured lung. She also has a fracture in her upper right leg.”

Adora immediately held out her hand, transforming into She-Ra and accessing her healing abilities. She opened her pure glowing white eyes and placed her healing hands on Catra’s chest. The healing light spread over Catra’s body and she gasped, the wheezing gone. Micah repeated his inspection after the light dissipated.

“The lung has sealed up and the broken bones are mending, but she will still need a lot of time to heal. I suggest we move her to your bedroom so she can rest. Castaspella and I can use magic to do it without jostling her.” Micah reported.

She-Ra/Adora looked down at Catra, relief in her eyes. “Catra, how do you feel?”

“Oh Adora, I don’t know if it worked. I’m still all wet.” Catra said with a grimace, the rain still falling on them.

She-Ra/Adora laughed, leaning down to kiss Catra’s wet face.


	8. Chapter 7:  The Third Choice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lonnie goes to visit her old Horde Commander, with cake.
> 
> Adora, Glimmer, Castaspella, Micah and Razz decide what to do with Shen.
> 
> Catra is the WORST patient ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Authors Note, 10/23/2020) - Totally forgot about the Imp and added him to Lonnie, Kyle and Rogellio's story.

**Chapter 7: The Third Choice**

Lonnie had just gotten the off morning shift of Bright Moon guard duty and began to head over to the mess hall. It was lunch and she intended to pick up a slice of cake for someone who sounded like they needed it— Catra.

Up until now they two women shared an uneasy relationship; not quite friends but not exactly enemies. This was the state of things between them after their mutual desertion from the Horde. They mostly avoided each other, but whenever they were forced in the same general proximity, they nodded in greeting or exchanged lame hellos.

After the Trial, Catra apologized to Lonnie, Kyle and Rogelio for throwing them out into combat over and over again with no concern for their well-being. She apologized for taking their friendship for granted, for they had all grown up together and Catra had dismissed this in her rise to power within the ranks of the Horde.

Like the dummies Lonnie thought they were, Kyle and Rogelio accepted her apology straight away, ready to forget the hurts and become friends again. Lonnie was not so quick to forget. She couldn’t forget Catra repeatedly getting in her face, threatening her if Lonnie didn’t do as Catra commanded, so when Catra came to her with apologies right after being convicted of her crimes, Lonnie had a hard time accepting it. She could not forgive Catra.

After the trial, Lonnie, Rogelio and Kyle had settled down together, getting a place in the small village at the base of Bright Moon, next to the bay. They had gone through so much— growing up together, fighting in the Horde, and eventually deciding to defect— that their bonds ran deep. Their transition to a more intimate relationship came naturally, although, they had to admit, they made an odd throuple.

On top of forming a relationship, the three had adopted a…ward. Ward was the best word, for he was not exactly a child, but not exactly able to take care of himself either. The “Imp”, as he was previously called, was re-named “Charlie” by Kyle, and the small creature took to the name.

Before formalizing the adoption, they had discussed it with their old Horde boss Hordak, who was also fond of Charlie and did not like the idea of being parted from him for good. An accord was struck; Lonnie, Kyle and Rogelio would have him during the week and Hordak would have him on the weekend. It worked out for everyone in the end, especially Charlie. 

Lonnie and Rogelio, being good soldiers and fighters, wanted to continue to serve and they wanted to serve the best. When they applied for the Bright Moon Guard, General Juliet was hesitant at first, but after recommendations from Adora and Catra, they were accepted. Lonnie and Rogelio were extremely proud to wear the purple, blue and white of the Bright Moon guard, even though they sometimes ran afoul of royal rules and regulations.

However, the Bright Moon Guard was not for Kyle; he always hated fighting and was not good at it. He chose to follow a different path, opening a specialty games shop in the nearby town of Thaymor. It was quite popular too, and on certain days Kyle would host an open game night for enthusiastic players. Catra and Scorpia were known to sometimes attend game night for their monthly “girls’ night out”. They usually could be seen in a corner, wearing matching leather jackets, playing their favorite board game. 

When Kyle went to work in his shop, Charlie would go with him; he had become the store’s mascot. Kyle was worried about Charlie making mischief at first, but he ended up being quite useful. Charlie’s recall ability was especially handy when you had one hundred sets of different game rules to memorize. He also had a knack for organization and would spend hours organizing all the games into the correct categories. 

Since Kyle owned his own shop and made his own hours, he could usually be home before Lonnie and Rogelio and make dinner; they had a pretty nice set-up.

When Lonnie and Rogelio heard the alarms in the middle of the night, they rushed to report for duty but by the time they got there, the action was over. From what they gathered, some kind of monster broke out of the Trial extension and wreaked havoc on Bright Moon. It took the combined power of She-Ra, Micah, Castaspella, Glimmer, Catra, Bow, a guard contingent _and_ the General to take it down. They now had it contained in a “spare bedroom” since the Trial extension was in ruins; She-Ra herself was standing guard over it. Lonnie had no idea why they bothered— back in the Horde, they would have just gotten of something like that, but what did she know? She was just a line-guard.

From what she gathered, there were just a few minor injuries, and no one was killed. Well, minor injuries except for Catra, who had taken a beating and had to be healed by She-Ra. Catra was now on mandatory bed rest in the chambers she and Adora shared.

When she heard about Catra being hurt, Lonnie was conflicted on how to feel. Then she remembered what she found in her cubby in the Bright Moon guard change area before her morning duty today. It was a crude, handwritten drawing of what appeared to be Lonnie, Kyle, Rogelio, Catra and Adora dressed in their training garb back in the Horde, fighting training bots. Lonnie would find little presents like this from time to time, and knew it was Catra’s way of reaching out. Catra must have left it for her yesterday to find today, before she was almost killed. Lonnie had folded it and put it in her pocket, to be put with the other presents she had started keeping in her old Horde footlocker back at home.

That was when Lonnie had decided, it was time to go visit her old Horde commander, to see if she was ready to forgive Catra.

Lonnie was crossing the grounds to the tower where she knew Catra and Adora resided. As she carried a cake on a plate, she took in the destruction caused the other night. It looked like a farmer had plowed up the meticulously kept lawn of the Bright Moon grounds; here and there, guards could be seen filling the worst of these rents in the ground with dirt. In the distance, a gaping hole could be seen in the Trial extension wall. She could only imagine what the inside looked like.

Lonnie made it to the tower and entered, going up the stairs to the right level and walked down the dormitory hall. 

_Hmmmm…I think I’m close,_ Lonnie said to herself. Then she heard Catra’s voice emanating from a closed room down the way, she sounded angry.

 _Sounds familiar_ , Lonnie said, again to herself, unsure if this was good idea.

As she got closer, she could hear Catra’s voice plus another, a male voice speaking soothingly to her.

“Punchy, I swear, if you don’t cut it out…” Catra warned.

“Come on Catra, open uuuuuuppppp…say ahhhhhhh!” the male voice stated.

“NO! Stop! I’m not a baby!” Catra yelled.

“Here it comes, wearrrr-owww-wowww!” the male voice again. Then, “OWWW! Catra you bit me!”

“I told you to stop!” Catra yelling again.

Lonnie was at the door, ready to turn around and leave when the door opened. A dark-skinned young man was there sucking on his finger. _Bow_ , she remembered, _his name is Bow._

“Oh hey! You here to see Catra? Lonnie, right?” Bow said pleasantly.

“Uh, yeah, I brought her something…” Lonnie said lamely, holding the cake.

Bow turned and yelled back into the room. “Catra, Lonnie is here to see you! You better be nice!”

Bow then turned to Lonnie. “Good luck!” he said as he walked past her, sucking on his finger again.

Before Lonnie entered, she heard a strange mewling sound which Catra responded to. “No Melog, I don’t think I overreacted, he totally deserved it!”

Lonnie entered and saw Catra lying in bed, propped up with pillows. She appeared to be wearing a gown that opened in the back, blankets covering her legs. A blue and purple creature of some kind sat next to her, staring intently at Lonnie.

“Lonnie? You came to see me?” Catra said, incredulous. There was also a slight hint of happiness in her voice, but Lonnie didn’t hear it.

“Uh, yeah... Catra, I wanted to see if it was true, that something could actually kick your butt.” Lonnie said, nonchalantly.

Catra laughed, then stopped quickly, grimacing. “Oww…my ribs, please don’t make me laugh.” Catra complained. “Yeah, I got my butt kicked. It was the fastest fight and worst beating I’ve experienced.”

“How bad are your injuries?” Lonnie, now concerned, walking to Catra’s side, across from the blue and purple creature.

“Five broken ribs and one broken leg, it was worse until Adora used her glowy healy-ness on me.” Catra stated.

“From what I heard it was some kind monster. The descriptions were horrible!” Lonnie said.

Catra had a distant look in her eyes. “Yeah, it was some kind of freak. I’m not sure where it came from, but I think it had something to do with that guy, Shen, who tried to hurt us the other night. Did you hear about that?” Catra asked.

Lonnie nodded.

“It had just knocked Adora, who was She-Ra at the time, back on her butt like she was nothing. I rushed ahead to fight it and it swatted me like a fly into a wall.” Catra said, still distant.

“Where is Adora now?” asked Lonnie. _Why is she not here with you?_ She thought to herself.

“Oh, she was here this morning to make sure I was alright, then assigned me my ‘nurse-maid’. I guess they somehow have the monster in custody, and she went to deal with it. She referred to it as Shen, so it is definitely the creepy night-wacko. I don’t understand all the particulars, they gave me a tonic that makes me a little dizzy and numbs the pain, so thinking isn’t my strong suit right now.” Catra admitted.

Lonnie had a biting rejoinder to Catra’s last statement, but decided to keep her mouth shut.

“I hope Adora is beating the snot out of him in She-Ra form— the guy totally deserves it.” Catra finished. Catra looked down at the cake in Lonnie’s hands.

“Did you bring me cake?” Catra asked brightly.

Lonnie looked down at it. It was big piece of the “cake of the day”— white cake with blue and purple frosting for the Bright Moon guard colors. Moon-shaped candy in all its different phases was sprinkled on the frosting.

“Uh, yeah, just something I grabbed.” Lonnie said, embarrassed now.

“Looks yummy.” Catra said, then frowned. “Ugh, but I can’t really move my arms, its hurts my ribs too much. I need my ‘nurse-maid’ to feed me, but he likes to play stupid baby games with me.”

Lonnie looked over at the nightstand table, seeing a plate with food and silverware sitting there. Next to it, there was a chair. She picked up the fork, wiping off the residual food on a napkin and moved the chair closer to the bed.

“Uh, I guess I could help. Help feed you, if you want. I promise I won’t play any games.” Lonnie said sheepishly.

Catra looked at the cake. “Uh…okay…I’m okay with that.” she said hesitantly.

Lonnie sat in the chair and proceeded to cut a small piece of cake off with the fork, a nice piece with lots of frosting. Catra slowly opened her mouth as Lonnie brought it over to the other woman’s mouth. Then she remembered Bow, sucking on his finger and stopped.

“Please don’t bite me.” Lonnie said.

Catra snapped her mouth closed and shook her head. “I won’t, I promise.” She said, then popped her mouth back open.

Lonnie brought the piece over and into Catra’s mouth. She began chewing slowly, closing her eyes.

“Mmmmmm…shooow mm-good.” Catra said, with her mouth full.

Lonnie smiled and sliced another portion, and, more confidently now, fed Catra the piece.

A troubled look came over Lonnie’s face and she placed the plate on her lap. Catra looked at her with an expectant look on her face, mouth open.

“Catra, I didn’t just come here to bring you cake. I had something I wanted to say.” Lonnie said, almost apologetically.

Catra popped her mouth closed and said nothing, letting the other woman talk.

“I was so angry at you for the way you treated us in the Horde, especially toward the end. We all grew up together, and even though we didn’t always see eye to eye, I still felt like we all had a connection and you and I were like sisters… or friends…” Lonnie said, starting to lose her train of thought.

“Lonnie, I’m so—” Catra started, but was interrupted by Lonnie.

“Please, let me continue.” Lonnie said, firmly yet kindly. “I was so angry, angry at you, and after the Trial, angry at the Horde. When you apologized to me that time, I was still processing all that anger, and didn’t take your words at face value. I wanted to hang on to that anger. I told myself you didn’t deserve my forgiveness. I have been hanging on to that all this time, even though you tried reaching out, leaving me those ‘presents’.” Catra smiled sheepishly but did not respond.

“When I heard that you were hurt last night, that you almost died, it suddenly hit me. I wasn’t really angry at you because of how you treated us, it was because you distanced yourself even more than usual from us. I felt like we lost what connection we had, and I lost a friend, my sister…it made me angry at you. I wanted to come to say… I do forgive you Catra. I forgive you, and I want us to be sisters again, sisters that fight a lot, but still... sisters.”

Catra smiled, and even though it pained her, placed her hand on Lonnie’s. “I would like that Lonnie.”

Both women smiled and let out a laugh, tears starting to fill their eyes.

“Anyway,” Lonnie, said, cutting another piece of cake and holding it up, “Now that that’s out of the way, more cake?”

Catra smiled and nodded like a small child. “Yes, please!” She exclaimed.

The two old Horde comrades, friends and sisters once again, sat there a while longer, one feeding cake to the other and reminisced about old times.

* * *

Adora, Glimmer, Castaspella, Micah, Swift Wind and Madame Razz were all in the guest bedroom, arguing about how to best approach this particular situation. Shen, still unconscious but fully dressed now, was firmly secured to the bed with chains around his torso and legs, plus a magical restriction spell in the form of a glowing disc over his chest. No one actually believed that it would do any good if the Demon-Heart came back.

“There is great magic in Mystacor. We could bring him there and bind him, using a cabal of ten sorcerers taking turns in rotation to hold him.” Castaspella was saying.

“Then what, Cassy? We do that forever? Because from what Adora said, _he can’t die_.” Micah responded, exasperated.

“Yes! If that’s what we must do, then so be it! It would give the senior students something to do instead of partying!” Castaspella said, throwing her hands in the air.

“As long as someone doesn’t slip up then yes, that would work. But mistakes are always made, especially with people involved. Even more so with students. No, Cassy. It won’t work.” Micah said, placatingly.

“Then what do you suggest, oh wise brother?” Castaspella responded, scathingly.

“I’m loath to suggest this, I really am... but I remember when Shadow Weaver first fell under the sway of dark magic. She had opened a rift to the void to swallow up Norwyn, the Head Sorcerer at the time. I believe I could do the same if I have to. I could use dark magic to send this evil away from us.” Micah said, pain written on his face at the idea.

“NO!” Adora yelled. “No, you can’t do that! This evil is attached to a person, Shen, someone who at his heart is good, I felt it! He does not deserve that kind of fate!” Adora pleaded.

“Adora, you have to think of the greater good! You have to make a choice; keep this poor boy contained but with the risk of harming everyone if he turns into Demon-Heart and escapes, or send him to the void and keep everyone safe. Think of everyone in Bright Moon, Adora— Think of the people close to you; Glimmer, Bow…Catra.” Micah said, sorrowfully.

“That is completely unfair, Micah!” Adora, yelled back. “I will NOT be compelled to choose between the only two decisions YOU state are our only course of action! I choose the third option! There is always another way!”

Madame Razz, who was silent through all this, smiled at Adora.

Just then Shen began to stir, groaning. “Adora...? Is that you?” he asked weakly.

Adora, Glimmer and Razz moved to his side. Micah and Castaspella held back, looking at each other. They both remembered the power of the Demon-Heart, unable to be contained by their combined magics.

Adora moved to his side and placed her hand on his forehead.

“I’m here, Shen, I’m here.” She said, smiling kindly down at him.

“I’m so sorry, Adora. The Other found a way out, I couldn’t stop them.” Shen said, whispering. “How is your love, uh, Catra?” he said, miserably.

Adora remembered that Shen said he always saw through the Demon-Heart’s eyes when it took over. That meant that Shen knew what the Demon-Heart did and what had happened to Catra.

“She’s fine, she’s healing. Don’t worry about that right now.” Adora said gently.

“Adora, I hate myself _so much_ right now. If I had killed one of your friends or your girlfriend last night—” Shen choked up, tears starting to fall through clenched eyes. “You were just trying to help me, you are so kind, you didn’t deserve to face that.” He whispered brokenly.

“Shen, we’re working on a plan, a way to free you and rid us of the Demon-Heart. We were just talking about the different choices…” Adora said, her voice trailing off.

Shen looked up at her intensely. “Adora, make the safest choice. Make the choice that keeps everyone safe! If it means I’m worse off, so be it! I won’t be responsible for more people getting hurt!” Shen declared.

Adora didn’t respond. She stood up and looked away, tears falling from her eyes. Her jaw was clenched in an effort to stop the tears when she felt an old hand on hers.

“Adora, there _is_ another way.” Adora looked down to see Madame Razz looking up at her, her eyes magnified behind her glasses.

“Excuse me... Madame Razz, is it? What other way? Also, what kind of magic were you using out there last night to subdue the monster? I’ve never seen anything like it.” Micah asked, confused as to why they would listen to a crazy old woman.

“Magic? What magic? What are you talking about, you silly boy?” Razz asked Micah, trying to swat him in the face with her broom.

“Adora? Are you really going to listen to this old woman over us? Castaspella and I are the premier sorcerers on Etheria.” Micah cried, pointing at Madame Razz.

Glimmer, who had been mostly silent, spoke up. “Dad, Madame Razz has helped Adora in the past. Adora trusts her and we should too.”

“Fine. I have other duties to attend to. Let me know if you need me to do as I suggested. Cassy, are you coming?” Micah threw his hands up in the air as the two older sorcerers left the room. Adora watched them leave with a heartbroken expression on her face, but Glimmer took her by the hand.

“Don’t worry about them. Old people _always_ think they know better. Also, the good thing about old people is that they forget easily. I’m sure they’ll get over this.” Glimmer said encouragingly to Adora.

They turned back to Razz, who was inspecting Shen and squinting as if listening to something. 

“Oh, shut up, you!” Razz said, gently poking at Shen’s scar with her broom handle. “Madame Razz has heard about enough of that! You are a nasty, horrible thing!”

Shen looked at Razz mystified, as were Adora, Glimmer and Swift Wind.

“Uh, Razz... remember we talked about talking to imaginary friends, like Loo-Kee? How you shouldn’t do it when other people are around?” Swift Wind said, looking at Glimmer and Adora with an apologetic look.

“Yes, and remember how I told you to shut up? Stupid talking horse!” Razz snapped.

Shen looked at Razz, realization on his face. “You can hear it, can’t you? You can hear the Other.” Shen stated, awe in his voice.

“Yes…yes, my poor, poor boy,” Razz said soothingly. “It is so horrible. You must be so strong not to have been completely lost to madness.”

“I’m not so sure about that…” Shen said, closing his eyes.

“No, no, you are not mad. Madame Razz can see it.” Razz said, then waved her hand over his eyes. “Sleep.” She said, gently. Shen immediately fell unconscious.

“So, Razz, you were talking about another way?” Adora said, steering the conversation back.

Madame Razz turned to her, intensity and focus in her eyes. “Yes, there is, Adora.” She stated.

Adora was taken aback by the sudden lucidity in Razz’s eyes; she had never seen this before.

“How, Razz?” she asked.

“Using my power in unison with She-Ra’s, you must enter Shen’s psyche and go to his very soul. There, you must sever his connection to the Other. You must use your heart to do this.” Razz said.

“My heart?” Adora said, confused. “Razz, can you please not be ambiguous? I need straight answers.”

“Yes, your heart, silly,” Razz said, using the end of her broom stick to poke Adora in the chest, alighting the heart rune there.

“This?” Adora said, even more confused. “The old ‘fail-safe’? Its power is gone... we used it to release the magic of Etheria.”

“No, no, silly girl. It is not just some ‘fail-safe’, it’s much more. There is old power, power the First Ones bound in this rune. Its uses are many but its prime ability— to break bonds— is still there. You can use it to break Shen’s bond to the demon within him. It is a dangerous task though, Adora, for by using the heart rune this way, you are risking being taken by the demon. Both you and Shen could be bound to it... forever.”

Adora let this sink in for a moment, Glimmer still holding her hand in support. She turned to look at Glimmer and smiled warmly; Glimmer returned the smile.

“I know what I have to do then, Razz,” Adora said simply.

“We must move the boy to my place deep in the Whispering Woods, where the magic is pure.” Madame Razz said, looking around. “The magic here is too stodgy and strict.” She said with disgust on her face.

“Okay, I have to go see someone first before I do this. I have to go see Catra. I promised her I would never run into something dangerous without letting her know, if I had the chance, that is.” Adora said.

“Fine, fine, take all night. Swift Wind and I will take the boy. It will take me a while to get the preparations in place.” Razz shrugged. “Meet me in the morning. It will be best to do this in the pure light of the day.”

Adora didn’t ask about the implications of Razz’s last statement. She was about to ask her if she needed help moving Shen when she watched Razz reach her hand out, magically removing the chains, banishing the magical ward and lifting him over and onto Swift Wind.

Adora and Glimmer walked out of the room together and back to the tower to see how Catra and Bow were faring. Since Catra was hurt badly and needed tending to, Bow volunteered to act as her “nurse-maid” for the time being.

Adora hoped that Catra hadn’t killed him yet.

They were just coming up the steps and into the hallway their rooms shared when they heard yelling.

“Oh boy.... that’s definitely Bow and Catra.” Adora groaned.

As they got closer, they could make out words through the closed door.

“Why are you so mean to me?” Bow yelled. He sounded as if he was going to cry.

“ _Because_ , you’re not doing it right! I said I wanted five pillows behind me AND to fluff them. You put _six_ pillows behind me, with _no fluffing_!” Catra said, practically screeching.

“I put the sixth pillow behind you to make up for no fluffing! How can you notice the fluffing when you end up sitting against them anyway, pushing them all together?” Bow yelled back.

“BECAUSE I CAN!! Where are you going?” Catra said, still screeching.

“I need a break from you. You’re too much, the worst patient ever!” Bow yelled as he opened the door. He saw Glimmer and Adora standing there and sighed.

“Oh, thank Etheria!” Bow exclaimed, just as a pillow smacked him on the side of the head.

Bow pushed them back out and slammed the door, to the chagrin of Catra yelling inside.

“Adora, I can’t do this anymore. She’s horrible! The worst! I’m sorry, but I quit!” Bow was practically squeaking in his anger.

“Bow, Bow, slow down, it’s okay. Catra is just having a hard time.” Adora said, trying to placate him.

“Hard time? Adora, all I have been doing all day is waiting on her, and what do I get? Hissing, growling and yelling!” Bow cried.

Glimmer pressed against Bow, hugging him. “Aww, did my poor baby get yelled at all day? I’m here now. I’ll save you from the nasty Catra.” Glimmer soothed.

“Bow, it will be okay. Catra loves you, I know she does.” Adora said, soothingly.

“Loves me?” he said, squeaking again as he held up his bandaged hand. “Loves me? She bit me! Hard! The last time she did that, she was in the Horde.” 

Bow then gasped, eyes widening in fear.

“Horde Catra is back.” Bow whispered.

Adora and Glimmer looked at each other, rolling their eyes.

“There, there my poor baby,” Glimmer said, leading Bow back to their room, “Let momma take a look at it.”

Adora watched her friends walk away with a scrunched up look on her face. _Did Glimmer just refer to herself as Bow’s mom? They are so weird sometimes._ She thought to herself.

Adora walked into the room and ducked just in time to miss a pillow aimed at her head.

“Catra!” Adora yelled.

“Whoops! Hey, Adora, I thought you were my pillow fluffer.” Catra said apologetically.

Adora looked at Catra. She was a mess; her hair which was usually a little wild was in complete disarray over her head, her eyes had a glazed look to them and there appeared to be some kind of blue and purple stains on the front of her gown. 

“Is that frosting?” Adora said, walking over and rubbing her finger on the stain and licking it. “Yep, it is.”

Catra looked up at Adora, a big grin on her face. She also had a dazed look in her eyes due to the tonic she took for pain, which made her dizzy and kind of silly.

“I missed you so much!” she exclaimed.

Adora sat next to her and gently kissed Catra on her head, pushing some tangles out of the way.

“I missed you too. I heard you were very bad today though. You were mean to Bow. Did you bite him, Catra?” Adora said, a little scolding in her voice.

“Humph!” Catra exclaimed, pouting. “He deserved it! He kept messing with me when he was spoon-feeding me, trying to pretend the spoon was Swift Wind and that he was ‘coming in for a landing’. Why would I want to pretend your stupid horse was going to land in my mouth?! I told him to stop, but he didn’t, so I bit him.” She shrugged, looking away.

Adora shook her head, a smile on her face. Melog, who lay at the foot of the bed, looked over at Catra and mewed to her in their language.

“Fine, fine, go. Sorry to have kept you.” Catra said, exasperated.

As Melog walked away and out the door, Adora could have sworn the purple and blue alien gave her a look that said, _Good luck._

“So, how did it go with the prisoner? Did you pound him good for me?” Catra asked.

“No, nothing like that Catra. That’s actually part of the reason I had to come by.” Adora said.

“Why do I have a bad feeling right now?” Catra asked, suspiciously.

Adora explained her conversation with the prisoner during the night in detail, while she was supposed to take a walk. Catra scowled at that part but remained silent. Adora continued with her search for Madame Razz and subsequent return to Bright Moon. Adora didn’t have to fill Catra in on the battle that ensued, for Catra was most familiar with that story. She ended her story with the discussion on how to best handle the situation, including Madame Razz’s plan to save Shen and banish the demon inside him.

“So, let me get this straight, you have two choices. One: Micah opens a portal and shoves the guy who tried to kill us into the void, thus keeping everyone from danger, or two: Adora trusts some crazy old lady who lives in the woods to help her enter the creep’s mind to fight with a demon. A demon who could end up taking you too. Do I have that right, Adora?” Catra said, a little menacingly.

“Catra, did you listen to what I said about Shen? What happened to him and what I felt? He’s the biggest victim in all this.” Adora implored.

“Ugh, here we go again. You go risk your life to save people while I have to sit back and hope you come back to me.” Catra said, her anger rising.

“Catra, I feel like it’s the only way. I have to help him. But I love you, and I promised I wouldn’t make decisions without you. If you don’t want me to go through with this tomorrow, I will find another way. Another way that does not involve sending Shen into the void, that is.” Adora said.

Catra looked away, out the window and growled. “Urrrrrrrhhhh…NO,” Catra sighed in great irritation.

“You’re okay with it then?” Adora asked.

“I’m not okay with it, but I won’t try stopping you, even if I was physically able to,” Catra said, sighing deeply. “I love you Adora and I love everything about you. Even your thick-headed need to be the hero. I love you and I know you need to do this; you wouldn’t have chosen to do it if it wasn’t the only way.” Catra said, with a small smile on her face.

Adora smiled and leaned in, kissing Catra on the lips.

“So, is that it? You got your permission and now you head off?” Catra said, annoyance back in her voice.

“Nope, I’m here for the night. We’re leaving in the morning. What would you like to do?” She said, sitting next to Catra.

Catra thought about it. “How about you read to me?” she asked tentatively.

Adora grinned. “Sure, what book would you like?”

Adora already knew the answer but loved drawing this out, Catra mumbled something back.

“Huh? What was that Catra?” she said, oozing with mischief.

Catra was blushing now. “Come on Adora, stop teasing me, read me the book about the little girl who lives with her horrible adoptive mother and finds out she is actually a princess.”

“Oooohh, I’ll read my wittle pwincess her little pwincess book!” Adora teased as she retrieved the book in question.

Catra, still blushing, grinned as Adora snuggled next to her and opened the book.

“There once was a little girl,” Adora began, “She was a good, kind girl who lived with a wicked and cruel parent…”


	9. Chapter 8: A Piece of My Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora attempts to save Shen's soul by entering his psyche, reaching his soul and breaking the his connection to the Demon-Heart using the fail-safe heart rune.

**Chapter 8: A Piece of My Heart**

It was early morning, just before sunrise. Adora stood in front of the mirror, putting her hair up. She was dressed in her usual outfit; dark gray pants, white undershirt and her blue and purple jacket over it. She looked in the mirror.

 _Okay, I’m ready as I’ll ever be to go into someone’s head and banish a demon._ She thought to herself.

Adora suddenly remembered her dream from last night. It was another nightmare, which was becoming a regular occurrence. She was in a large, dark, chamber; looking in the center, she saw a throne on a raised dais. It was a dark throne and the armored figure from the other night was sitting on it, gazing down at her. A bright shaft of terrible light was shining down on him from above. He seemed to be bathing in it, gaining power.

He was wearing the same shadowed cowl as before, and as he turned his head, she saw the leering skull within. He started cruelly laughing at her, when she had woken up.

Adora shook the memory from her mind and tried to concentrate on the day ahead. The task that lay before her was too great to be bogged down by bad dreams.

Catra was still asleep behind her, propped up on five pillows and snoring. Adora did not want to wake her up to say goodbye... Saying goodbye would make it seem like there was a chance she couldn’t come back, and she didn’t want to think about that. Besides, they said their goodbyes last night.

Just as she was thinking that, a light knock could be heard at the door, eliciting a loud snore from Catra.

Adora opened it to see Glimmer.

“Shhh, don’t wake the monster,” Adora whispered to her friend.

Glimmer looked over at the snoring Catra, her hair still a mess.

“Ewww…is that your girlfriend?” Glimmer teased.

“Where’s Bow? I need to leave soon?” Adora asked.

“Bow isn’t coming. He said he wouldn’t deal with ‘Catra, Princess of Pillows’ again. He’s going with you while I watch sleeping beauty today.” Glimmer whispered.

“Okay.” Adora said, looking back at Catra. “Any chance you could clean her up a little today?” Adora asked.

“Adora, I’m not sponge-bathing your girlfriend. There are limits to what I will do.” Glimmer said, still teasing with a smile.

“Okay, at least brush her hair and change her out of that filthy robe, please?” Adora pleaded, still whispering. Just then Catra elicited another loud snore. Glimmer made a face.

“We’ll see.” She said, then hugged Adora, kissing her on the cheek. “You ready? You better be careful today.”

Adora returned the hug. “I am and I will. I’ll be back, I promise.” She whispered in her friend’s ear.

Glimmer looked at Catra, then back at Adora with another grimace. “You better.”

Adora glanced at Catra, blew her a kiss and walked out the door. She walked down the hallway to see Bow waiting for her.

“Ready?” He asked.

“Yep, let’s do this.” Adora said, simply.

Suddenly, Bow’s pocket started beeping and he pulled out his data pad. Someone was trying to contact him.

“Let me guess... Entrapta?” Adora said.

Bow nodded. “Yeah... she’s been calling me since yesterday morning, but I was so busy with Catra, I didn’t answer. I guess she’s starting in again early.”

“Considering what we are doing this morning, I think it can wait longer,” Adora said. Bow turned the pad off and put it back in his pocket.

Adora and Bow exited the tower and strode out onto the grounds. The sun was peeking over the horizon, and it looked like it was going to be another beautiful day. They saw Swift Wind nearby, grazing on the grass while waiting for them.

“Hey, Adora! Are you ready?” Swift Wind asked, all enthusiasm.

“Yes, I think so,” Adora said, getting tired of being asked if she was ready. “So, I hear you’re Madame Razz’s horse now, is that true?” Adora asked, smirking.

“I’m nobody’s hors—” Swift Wind began to exclaim.

“Just teasing buddy, got ya!” Adora said, hopping on his back.

“Har, har.” Swift Wind said sarcastically as Bow hopped on behind Adora. As soon as Bow was on, he flew up into the sky, heading in the direction of the Whispering Woods.

As they flew through the sky Adora marveled again at just how beautiful Etheria was. She saw the sun rising in the distance, and on the opposite darker horizon she could see dark clouds with fire lightning dancing within. Light and dark. As the sun got higher, the dark clouds in the distance shrunk, the fire lightning fading. _Light chasing the dark away, as it should be_ , Adora thought, feeling confident now.

They soon arrived at their destination and landed near Madame Razz’s cottage.

Adora, Bow and Swift Wind entered the cottage. Looking around, they saw blue candles placed everywhere, covering the inside with a warm blue glow. The candles covered every surface except for the center, where Shen lay on a large bed, unconscious. There was room for one more next to him. Madame Razz was there fussing about. She glanced at them, seeing that they were studying the candles.

“The wax is infused with Moon Aster petals, which are helpful to banish all kinds of darkness.” She said.

Swift Wind was at the door still, hesitant to walk in and risk knocking over the candles. “Razz it’s light outside, what dark are you talking about?” he asked.

Madame Razz turned her scornful gaze on the horse. “Shut up, please. Or Madame Razz will revoke your invitation to stay here.”

Swift Wind backed up slightly but stayed in the door to watch, wisely deciding to be quiet.

Madame Razz looked at Adora and Bow, then looked around, as if searching for someone else. “Where is the other one, the sparkly one?” Razz asked.

“She’s doing me a favor and watching our friend, who was hurt pretty bad.” Bow answered.

Razz looked disappointed by this, while Bow and Adora shared a puzzled look. Then Razz just shrugged her shoulders. “Oh well, maybe later then,” Razz stated mysteriously.

She turned to Adora. “Are you ready, dearie?” She asked, not realizing that she was the fourth person to ask Adora today.

“Yes,” Adora responded, no hesitation in her voice.

“Good. Now, turn into She-Ra and lie down next to the boy. Madame Razz will use her power to connect the both of you, allowing you to enter his psyche. From there you will be on your own. You must make your way to his soul and break the bonds connecting him to the demon.” Razz instructed.

“Okay, that’s it? No detailed instructions on what to do, just enter his mind, find his soul and cut the binds with the heart rune on my chest?” Adora said, frustration clear in her voice.

“Adora, Adora... my silly Adora. You are doing it again. You’re afraid and asking old ladies what you should do. You have She-Ra, you will know. Madame Razz trusts your instincts, you should too!” Razz stated.

Bow came up to Adora and hugged her. “You’ve got this Adora. I will be right here by your side the whole time watching over you.” He said reassuringly.

Adora smiled back and raised her hand, speaking the words of summoning and transforming into She-Ra. Looking down at the bed, she saw the space next to Shen was just big enough for She-Ra to fit. She lay down next to him, placing her hands on her chest and closing her eyes.

Bow and Swift Wind watched as Madame Razz moved to stand behind them. Both of her hands were grasping the broom, which was held vertically before her, handle pointing up. Suddenly, her hands and forearms changed colour, her skin becoming blue and faceted, like a gem. The skin extending past her elbows remained the same, pink and wrinkled.

Her broom suddenly became much longer and straighter, with a bright light at the top, like a star. She opened her eyes; they were not the eyes of an old lady, they were the infinite reaches of the universe, swirling galaxies and nebulas. The connection was made.

* * *

She-Ra/Adora falls for what seems like a long time; she falls in darkness until she starts to slow then lands softly on ground. She looks around, noticing it was dark, night? Looking up, she sees a familiar object, the dread orb of her dreams, gazing down on her. She looks around. As her eyes adjust, she sees a small black-haired boy, his arms held down by what appeared to be a black armored figure, its face covered by a masked helmet. The boy is crying for his mother. Looking in the direction of the boy’s stare, she sees what appears to be a dwelling large enough for a family.

As she looks at the boy, she can feel his emotions; fear for his mother, a need to protect her, and anger— anger at the guards for holding him and anger at himself for being too small to help.

A massive figure comes out of the doorway, ducking his head down so he can fit through the door. He wears a sleeveless black robe, hood over his head, a wicked crown on top. He has armored shoulders extending in segments down his arms, ending in clawed gauntlets. The claws are absolutely covered in blood and gore. She recognizes this figure from her nightmares.

She looks at his face under the hood, she can see it clearly now, but instead of a skull, it is a man’s face, huge and broad. It is a very cruel face; she sees no pity there. Gray hair cascades down to his chest. The massive sword is there as well, on his back.

The figure walks to the boy, who looks up at him, tears streaking his face. “Where is my mother?” the boy asks. She-Ra/Adora can feel his anger rising.

The figure gently touches the boy’s face as if wiping a tear, spreading blood there. Then he cups the boy’s chin. “Your mother is gone. I am your Father. I will raise you now, you are mine.”

The boy screams.

She-Ra/Adora falls in darkness and lands on ground again. She is in a dark forest, the dread orb shining down, bright. Next to her stands a black-haired adolescent boy; it is Shen, she now realizes, even though he is younger. He is holding a long shaft against his shoulder. She realizes it must be some kind of weapon, a blaster or gun. 

Shen is pointing the end of the gun at an animal in the distance; it was completely unaware of its current situation. It is a strange, beautiful creature, with long limbs, coarse shaggy fur and a bushy tail. It is a silvery color and seems to glow in the light of the orb above. It turns its head to the young man, showing long snout with two canines protruding and two big pointed ears held up at attention. It turns its bright, silvery eyes on Shen, studying him.

She can feel Shen’s emotions again; a need for approval mixed with the awe of seeing such a majestic creature, and confusion as to why he must end its life.

The creature studies Shen, not running away. It seems to almost trust him, as if knowing Shen would not harm it.

She-Ra/Adora then feels another emotion from Shen, a decision based on the need to protect, not destroy. He lowers the gun and smiles at the creature, which cocks its head in return and runs away.

“SHEN’THRAN-ZANMAR’ETH!!!!” A loud, terrible voice booms from the darkness behind. Shen winces and drops the gun.

She-Ra/Adora falls and lands softly again, the fall even shorter now.

She sees Shen again, the same age as her previous vision. He is sitting at the top of a large hill overlooking an incredible vista. In the light of the dread orb she can see the hill is bare except for short, straw-colored grass. In the distance there are rolling hills, a large forest, and past that, jagged dark mountains. Even though the light from the dread orb is unpleasant, there is something truly beautiful in the view, the light giving the landscape an ethereal, dream-like quality.

She-Ra/Adora feels conflict within Shen; his father had just told him the dark truth of life and the concept was just too unacceptable for him to face. It blankets him in oppression, for to the young man, his father’s words were absolute and true.

Shen holds a knife in his hands, and slowly turns it toward his heart, ready to plunge it in. Absolute conviction is on his young face.

“No!” She-Ra/Adora tries to scream, reaching to him, but she is unable to emit sound or move.

He holds it there for a moment, then his hands began to shake. Suddenly, he pulls the knife away and stands up. He screams as he throws the knife into the distance.

He stands there, clenching his fists, gazing into the distance. She-Ra/Adora can see tears streaking down his face, but there is absolute firm resolve there.

“NO.” Shen declared.

She-Ra/Adora experienced the falling sensation again, followed by another vision. Shen with a beautiful man; he had light blue skin, long white hair and pointed ears. This must be Shen’Dara that Shen had spoken of. They are gently kissing full of passion. Adora feels pure happiness and love emanating from Shen.

Falling, another vision. Shen and Shen’Dara are with a group of others, allies, fighting a group of mixed individuals; some fully encased in black armor, some in black robes and… others. The others are horrible, shambling forth in a ragged array of clothes, their skin gray and pallid, faces empty of any expression. They look dead, but aren’t.

Shen, and his friends fight these enemies, each one’s fighting style complementing the group. Shen’Dara is a laughing, whirling-dervish with two swords as he cuts down foes. He is beautiful and savage at once, and She-Ra/Adora is suddenly reminded of Catra and how she fights. 

At Shen’Dara’s back is a figure all in black, hood over his head and face concealed. Over the black clothes, the figure wears a black armor chest piece, black armor shin guards and black armor wrist gauntlets. The figure has a black sword in one hand, cutting down foes and protecting Shen’Dara’s blind side. From Catra’s description of the night they were attacked, this must be Shen, his identity concealed from his father’s men.

There were others; a large woman, she is burgundy-skinned, bald with horns, she has a large hammer which she uses to smite foes, booming with laughter every time she lands a blow.

A slender, scantily clad pink-skinned humanoid figure, neither female nor male, their face concealed in a white mask. They are gliding and sliding through the battle, slashing out at enemies with two double-bladed knives.

There is a tall, grim-faced man with short blond hair. She-Ra/Adora grimaces as she sees that his eyes appeared to be sutured closed, blind. He strides into the battle swinging a large chain, a razor blade on the end. He swings the chain around his body or whips it in a stabbing strike, his skill with the weapon confident, seemingly unaffected by his apparent blindness. 

There is a small, female, child-like being, with wings folded at her back, darting about the enemy’s feet. She appears to be throwing small objects on the ground, spikes protruding at all angles. Her enemies step on these and scream, jumping and holding their feet or falling on their backs where the small being waits for them with a knife. The sharp objects do not seem to affect the shambling figures though, for they stride over these as if they feel no pain.

There are others too, Shen’s friends, and she feels it now, his absolute love for all of them. He would die to protect them, to save them from hurt, to protect them from his father’s dark empire.

She-Ra/Adora falls again, but instead of landing, she begins seeing images and visions, seemingly from Shen’s point of view.

Waking, hearing shouts. His father’s agents had found them! Running, running for the escape route. The enemies are too close, they will not all make it in time! Shen decides to stay behind and hold them off, Shen’Dara pleads for him not to do it. Finally, Shen’Dara acquiesces to Shen’s desire and they mark their farewell with a kiss. Unbeknownst to either, this will be their final one.

Then, Shen fighting, Shen captured, Shen being brought before the dread figure. The dread figure is Shen’s father, Shen’Aan-war, She-Ra/Adora finally realizes, putting the name to the person who haunted her dreams. Shen expects anger, rage but there was nothing in the Shen’Aan-war’s face; he seems unconcerned. 

“From this moment forth, you are no longer the Prince. You are no longer my son.” The Shen’Aan-war says, then he turns to a robed figure, at the head of a small group of them. “You may take him for your…experiment. He should be perfect for what you need.” He states dismissively.

Shen yells and he sees the robed figures moving toward him. She-Ra/Adora almost screams as well when she sees their faces under the hoods; expressionless, pallid skin, sutured eyes. They reach for Shen.

Then, a series of intense images filled with fear and pain; darkness, bindings, the pallid faces with sutured eyes, a knife, blood, reaching in, removing…then the Demon-Heart brought forth. It is just as Shen said; a pulsing black heart with a small red light glowing from within. It is horrible and they were going to put it inside him; how is he alive?

Then, waking in a dark place, a terrible voice speaking to him. The Other. The explanation by the Other detailing their new and intimate relationship…No! How can this be? This is damnation!

She-Ra/Adora is starting to get confused now; she doesn’t know if she is watching Shen, watching through Shen’s eyes or if she _was_ Shen. The visions continue.

The robed figures come for me, Death-Binders, that’s what they are called. They take me down to the ritual chamber, bind me again, tell me I must kill the rebels. NO! My friends! I would DIE before I would do that. The Death-Binders laugh, perform their magic on me; I feel rage and pain, I have no choice, I change. They send me out, out into the black night.

I hunt; Shen’Shenji is first, I find him in his usual spot, the place where people gather to drink. People scream and run, he turns, chains in hand, to fight me. I ROAR! I lunge, I STRIKE, his chain’s barb bites deep, but I do not hurt. I kill, I eat.

Next is Shen’Ono; she will be in the Spider Glade, her favorite spot to pick Venom Berries. THERE SHE IS, basket in hand! She sees me, SHE SCREAMS, she runs, opening her wings to fly away. I LEAP, catching her. She is MINE.

SHEN’BERIA is walking the street, WHISTLING as she walks back from her girlfriend’s abode. SHE DOES NOT SEE ME above her on the roof. I SCREAM AS I LEAP DOWN ON HER! She is caught unaware, but SHE IS ALWAYS READY. She shakes me off. LIFTING THE HAMMER, SHE STRIKES ME DOWN. I am un-hurt; I AM THE DEMON-HEART, I take HER heart.

SHEN’EN-WA IS SLEEPING IN THEIR BED. THIS IS THE BEST TIME TO GET THEM FOR THEY ARE NORMALLY SO FAST! I COVER THEIR MOUTH WITH MY HAND, THEIR EYES OPEN IN SHOCK. I HUSH THEM, BACK INTO SLEEP, INTO DARKNESS.

I HUNT THE OTHERS; ONE BY ONE, THEY FALL TO MY POWER! I CANNOT BE STOPPED FOR I AM THE DEMON-HEART! 

TONIGHT IS THE NIGHT! THE LAST ONE, I WILL FIND HIM TONIGHT! I HUNT, THERE ARE MANY PLACES HE COULD BE. AH, A MEMORY, FROM THE OTHER, SHEN’THRAN-ZANMAR’ETH, I KNOW WHERE HE WILL BE! THE PLACE WHERE THEY FELL IN LOVE.

I GO THERE, I FIND HIM, HE TURNS…and…

“Shen’Thran-Zanmar’eth, is that you? My love…” Shen’Dara says, pure sadness in his voice. “When you disappeared, I lost all hope, I thought you were dead or imprisoned. Then I heard our friends were being killed off, one by one. I thought your father had tortured their locations out of you, that you were still alive. Only when I talked to the few witnesses left alive from the attacks and heard their descriptions did I begin to suspect it was much worse. What did your horrible father do to you?”

Shen sees Shen’Dara through the eyes of the Demon-Heart, unable to stop what is happening. He tries to speak through its mouth.

“Shh…dara…runnn!” he manages through needle teeth.

“No, no, I will not leave you like this. There is another way, remember the Shea’Har-the, it can heal you, I know it!”

“Noooo…it…too…late!” Shen pleaded.

“I will subdue this form you have been forced to take and save you, trust me!” Shen’Dara pleads.

Shen can longer answer, and the DEMON-HEART charges forward. Shen’Dara FIGHTS THE HARDEST Shen had ever seen, HE FIGHTS TO SAVE Shen. It is no use though, THE DEMON-HEART IS TOO POWERFUL. 

I GRAB THE SWORD IN MY CLAW, BREAKING IT IN TWO. THE PEST STRIKES ME WITH THE OTHER, I BITE IT APART! I BACK-HAND THE FOOL INTO THE WALL. HE TRIES TO RISE, I PUT MY HANDS ON HIS THROAT, HE SAYS SOMETHING ABOUT LOVE. PITIFUL!! I HATE LOVE! I DECIDE TO MAKE THIS SLOW SO THE OTHER CAN WATCH, WATCH HIS LOVE DIE!

The vision vanishes and She-Ra/Adora feels herself falling again, the residual hate she felt though the Demon-Heart fading away.

She is surrounded by pure darkness as she starts to fall slower, slower, then lands slowly on soft ground. She-Ra/Adora rises to her feet; looking down, she sees her own body as She-Ra. Her She-Ra form is glowing softly, pushing back some of the dark. She hears a voice calling out.

“Shen?!” she yells. “Shen, is that you? Let me know where you are!”

“Adora...I’m here.” Is the reply, in the dark.

“I’m coming!” She-Ra/Adora yells, running in the direction of Shen’s voice.

She runs until she sees a figure ahead; it is Shen, wearing just pants. His back is to her, his tattoos are glowing brightly. She-Ra/Adora comes near him but suddenly stops, unsure about finding Shen now for some reason.

“Shen?” She asks hesitantly.

“Adora, I’m so glad you found me,” Shen says, back still turned. “You saw that last vision, didn’t you? The one where the Dem…where I killed Shen’Dara?”

“Yes, yes Shen, it was horrible. I’m so sorry.” She-Ra/Adora says, pain in her voice.

“Yes…yes? It was?” Shen says, now a question. Shen sounds very strange now, not like the person Adora connected with the other night. He sounds colder, more alien.

“Shen... what is wrong with you?” She asks, confused.

“Ah, yes. I have watched that memory time and time again in my mind. Over and over again, it gave me great grief and pain, pain so bad I wanted it to swallow me up and to die. This time, though, I let the Demon-Heart take complete control. Do you know what I felt?” Shen asks.

She-Ra/Adora didn’t respond, and Shen turns around. She-Ra/Adora is horrified.

Shen’s face is a mixture of the Demon-Heart and Shen. Red glowing hateful eyes with red slit pupils, a mouth open in an evil smile, revealing needle teeth. The teeth are red and covered in blood.

“I felt RELEASE!” he says, in pure rapture. “It felt so good to give in to the hate, the anger. Ohhhhhh…”

She-Ra/Adora begins to hear other sounds in the dark. She has heard them before in her nightmares, strange shrieks and cries, horrible sounding.

Shen cocks his head, then turns as if looking for the sound. His face is in profile; he raises his head, closes his eyes and opens his mouth in a sigh. As this happens, a light begins to rise in the distance through the trees; it is the dread orb rising. They are in a dark forest now, like the dark version of the Whispering Woods in her nightmare. The cries became louder as the ghostly light rises, howling in their joy.

“Ahhhhh…soooo beautiful…can you hear them, Adora? My new friends, they call for me to join them!” Shen says, face still in profile, eyes closed.

“So, what.... you’re a Demon now, Shen? Are you going to attack me?” She-Ra/Adora asks, raising her sword.

“No, no, never, Adora! I am partly giving in to the Demon-Heart for you! For you and your friends.” As Shen says this, she can almost hear Shen’s old self without the coldness.

“How does that work, Shen?” She-Ra/Adora asks, incredulous.

“The Demon-Heart knows your plans to banish them from me. They told me if I give in to them, we will just go back to the corpse-pools, but not as Shen and the Other- as ONE, the Demon-Heart. They said it was the easiest way, that if you tried to separate them from me, they would take you. I couldn’t let that happen!” Shen cries. 

Some of the more demonic aspects of his features seem to subside and the old Shen reappears. He is still in there— the Demon-Heart has not taken him fully yet. Then his features change back, and he turns, looking back at the dread orb.

“Ahhhhh…they _were_ right, the Set’Heth-un’dar is so _very_ beautiful!” Shen exclaims.

She-Ra/Adora looks down and touches her chest, the heart rune appearing there. She thinks about Shen, who he is, what she saw in the visions. How Shen would die for his friends, the people he loved, to fight with all his heart to protect them. She remembers their connection the other night during their discussion. A connection between friends; she feels that she is Shen’s friend and she knows he feels she is his as well. She strokes the heart rune, then a feeling comes over her. It is deeper than instinct, deep as her soul.

She-Ra/Adora strides toward Shen, grabbing his shoulder and turns him around. With her other hand she somehow grasps the heart rune on her chest and pulls; it flashes, and an identical heart rune appears in her hand. She slams the identical heart rune into Shen’s chest with a blinding flash of light. Shen doubles over.

Shen rises back up, his face completely back to normal. He looks down at the heart rune on his chest, horror spreading across his face.

“Adora, no! Why? It can take you too now!” Shen screams, pure agony in his voice.

“I guess you have to fight it now, Shen!” She yells back into his face.

Shen looks back at She-Ra/Adora, resolve replacing the horror on his face. He grits his teeth and closes his eyes.

“NOOOO!!! YOU WILL NOT TAKE HER!” he screams.

Suddenly, red eyes appear all around them, screams of rage echoing. The eyes start rushing toward them and black demonic forms appear as they get closer, She-Ra/Adora holds her sword up to defend herself and Shen. As they run toward her, she slashes at them, but they simply pass by, doing her no harm. They are going for Shen, clutching him, holding him, imploring him, tearing at him. Shen is bent over, hands forming fists, he is covered in the black demons.

Shen screams in agony.

There is an explosion of pure white light... and then, nothing.

* * *

Adora woke with a start, sitting up and clutching her chest, the heart rune appearing. She was just Adora now, having reverted while unconscious. She looked down at Shen and was amazed at what she saw.

He lay there, just as she remembered, tattoos and all, with the painfully red scar in the center of his chest. Then, slowly, a heart rune like hers appeared over the scar; it flashed brightly. Suddenly, the silvery tattoos turned black, then into a fine ash which blew away and vanished. The heart rune grew even brighter, and as it did, the scar seemed to dissipate, until it was just a thin line. Then, the heart rune dimmed and flashed out. Adora reached out and touched Shen’s chest and the heart rune appeared, just like hers would when touched. She smiled.

Suddenly, someone hugged her from the other side. “Ooooohhhhh, thank Etheria you’re alright!” Bow exclaimed.

Adora returned the embrace and heard a whinny behind her. Swift Wind had entered the cottage in his excitement, but Madame Razz was trying to push him back. 

“No, no, silly horse! You will knock the candles over and burn down Madame Razz’s shack!” Razz yelled.

Adora heard a groan next to her and turned to see Shen sitting up. He touched his chest and gazed at the rune there.

“Hey, Shen, how do you feel?” Adora asked, putting her hand on his shoulder.

Shen looked up at her with the most genuine look of joy Adora had ever seen. He leapt toward her, drawing her in an embrace. She could feel tears on her neck.

“I can’t believe it, you did it! You saved me!” he said, disbelief in his voice.

“Of course, Shen, that’s what I do,” Adora said, hugging him back, her eyes wet.

“Adora, I’m yours! I’m your man forever!” Shen said, continuing to hug Adora.

Adora suddenly became very aware she was hugging a half-naked man in a bed and awkwardly disentangled herself from him.

“Okay…okay…Shen,” Adora said with an uncomfortable chuckle. “That’s great but you have to know... I’m already taken... I have a girlfriend.” She stuttered.

Shen laughed loudly. “That’s not what I meant, Adora. I meant I will always be there for you, whatever you need me for, you friend forever. Always.” Adora smiled, touched by the sentiment.

Madame Razz came around the bed and gazed at Shen, a warm smile on her face.

“How does it feel, my boy?” she asked.

Shen looked down at his chest again. “Is the Demon-Heart gone? What has taken its place if I’m still alive?”

“The demon is gone, but the heart remains. It is your heart now.” Razz said simply.

Shen kept touching his chest, the absolute joy and happiness on his face making everyone smile.

Suddenly he looked confused. “Wait, how am I talking to you all? I got that power from the Other. With the Other gone, I should be speaking my own language.... wait—” Shen, paused and started speaking in that strange hissing language.

“I can still speak She-Thar too.” He said, amazed. He looked at Razz who shrugged in response.

“Magic, silly boy.” She said, as if it was the answer to everything.

Maybe it was.


	10. Chapter 9:  Star Stone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After their ordeal, Adora, Bow and Shen return to Bright Moon.
> 
> Glimmer visits Razz and begins her new journey.
> 
> Adora sits down with Shen, time for answers.

**Chapter 9: Starstone**

It was late morning. Adora, Bow and Shen were on their way back to Bright Moon, walking through the Whispering Woods from Madame Razz’s shack. Adora was listening as Bow chatted away amicably to Shen; they talked about the various trees and animals they encountered. Bow had grown up in the Whispering Woods with his two dads, so he was practically an expert of the flora and fauna there. Shen was silently listening to Bow and staring around in amazement, as if he was a child seeing the world for the first time.

Adora was smiling at them, but then frowned as she remembered what Madame Razz said to her before they left.

The old woman had brought Adora to the side as Bow introduced himself to Shen, Swift Wind yelling his introductions from the door. Shen was holding a mug of hot, light blue tea Madame Razz had given him. 

“We did it, Razz! We banished the demon and healed Shen!” Adora had said to the old woman, excitedly.

Razz smiled sadly at this but nodded. “Yes. Yes, we did, dearie. The demon is gone, but healed the boy? No. You must watch out for him during this stage, Adora. You saw what he went through. Keep an eye on him. His soul is bright but there is a dark spot there where the demon had resided. It will haunt him from time to time.”

Adora had remembered when she used his healing power on Shen, she could also see a dark spot on his soul, like a sunspot. 

“Do you mean dangerous?” Adora had asked.

“Not to you and your friends, no. Only to himself, for he sees you as his friend and will go far beyond what is required to look out for you. Up until now, his body could not truly be harmed, and he will still feel invincible. That in combination with his altruism could make for a bad combination for his tenuous hold on this existence. Look out for him Adora, not just because all life is sacred. This boy will be very important to you in the future. Important to She-Ra.”

Adora looks questioningly at Razz. “What does that me—” She trailed off as Madame Razz gave her a hard look. 

“Fine, fine,” Adora said, rolling her eyes in exasperation.

Razz swatted lightly at Adora. “Don’t you roll your eyes at Madame Razz! Anyway, Madame Razz wants to ask you something else. Your pretty, sparkly friend, Glimmer? Tell her to come see Madame Razz, alone.”

“Glimmer? Why?” Adora asked.

“Don’t you mind, Adora. You have to share Madame Razz, you can’t keep her all for yourself!” Razz snapped.

“Ugghh…I just want to know what to tell Glimmer. She is going to want to know why you want her to come all the way from Bright Moon to the Whispering Woods alone to visit you.” Adora said, exasperated.

“Just tell her Madame Razz wants to show her something. Something that can help her in her journeys among the stars.” Razz answered mysteriously.

Adora didn’t even bother asking what that last statement meant, she was tired from the morning’s ordeal and just wanted to see Catra.

Before they left, Razz had given Shen a light, waist-length, black jacket to wear. Adora could not identify what it was made of; the material was glossy, like bird feathers, and the material seemed very tough. It was collarless and had five silver buttons that ran up the front. The jacket suited Shen and he was very pleased with the gift; he put it on but did not button it up. Unfortunately, Razz didn’t have any footwear to give him and Shen left barefoot, but he didn’t seem to mind at all.

Adora shook herself from her memories as they neared the edge of the Whispering Woods; Bright Moon was in the distance.

“We’re here! Your new home, buddy!” Bow said enthusiastically, elbowing Shen lightly.

“Really?” Shen asked, in complete awe. “You’re going to let me live here? After everything I did?”

“Of course! I mean, we let Catra live here and she was way worse than you!” Bow exclaimed.

“Bow, leave my girlfriend out of this,” Adora said, a false warning in her voice. “Yes, Shen, you are going to stay here with us— if you want that is. What you did was out of your control. I... we don’t hold you responsible for it.”

“Well…we might have to explain the situation to a few people. Like Micah, Castaspella and the General. Oh, and Catra. It’s a good thing she is stuck in bed right now. Hoo-wee!” Bow exclaimed.

“Yes, we have met,” Shen said with a small smile, suddenly reaching up to his face where the bruises were still fading.

“Don’t worry about all that Shen. We are going to find you a room, something to eat, and let you rest. Later, I want to get together and talk. I want to ask you about these nightmares I’ve been having. I feel like you might have some answers.” Adora said.

“Of course, Adora, anything,” Shen replied.

They made their way over the bridge crossing the small bay and up the stairs and paths to the white towers. The whole time, Shen would stare at the Moonstone whenever it came into view. He seemed to be bathing in its light, like a plant seeing the sun again after a long period of darkness.

Finally, they made it to their tower, and upon entering the hallway, once again heard yelling from Adora and Catra’s room. 

“The guards must be so sick of this,” Adora grumbled.

“Ohhh...I hope Glimmer is okay.” Bow said, worry on his face.

His fears were unfounded, for as they got closer, they could slowly hear the yelling from within.

“Heeeeellppp!!! Help me! Someone heeeeeeellllpp!”

It was Catra.

Adora turned to the guards standing watch at the end of the hall; they didn’t make a move.

“Hold still, you big baby!” Glimmer cried, a laugh in her voice.

A high-pitched scream could be heard. “Stop, please stop. I want Punchy back!” Catra yelled.

Adora looked at Bow. “Maybe you should just take Shen and try to see if you could find a spare room, preferably in this hall. I want him close if I need anything.” 

What she really meant was she wanted him close so she could keep an eye on him, remembering Razz’s words. She didn’t want to say this in front of him, of course.

Bow looked at the door. “Yeah, sounds like Glimmer has things under control. Also, I heard Catra say she wanted me back as a nursemaid? That’s not gonna happen. Come on buddy, let’s see about a room for you. Oh, and hey, like your style. I’m just a bare torso guy but the bare chest and torso thing is cool too.”

Adora entered the room and immediately burst out laughing. It looked like Glimmer did indeed clean Catra up.

Somehow, Glimmer had found a clean robe which was bright pink, and managed to get it on Catra, without being sliced to ribbons. And speaking of ribbons…

Glimmer was in the process of brushing Catra’s hair and putting ribbons in it. Ribbons of every color of the rainbow. It looked like Glimmer was almost finished. Catra had the biggest frown on her face, a frown so deep Adora didn’t think Catra’s face would ever go back to normal. Then Catra saw Adora and the frown vanished.

“Adora! Thank you, thank you, you came back! Please get her out of here!” Catra begged.

“Don’t move, Catra, I’m _almost_ done!” Glimmer beamed.

Adora walked to the edge of the bed and stood there, admiring Glimmer’s handiwork.

“Wow, what did you do to the monster? She looks so beautiful!” Adora teased.

“Oh, you know, Catra has been long overdue for a make-over, and I added my own special brand of sparkly magic to her appearance.” Glimmer had finished and had stepped back to admire her work. “She still looks very frumpy though.”

Catra growled.

As Adora got closer, she noticed something else in Catra’s hair. “Wait, did you put sparkles in her hair?”

Glimmer put her hands together next to her face and beamed. “Oh, that’s not all. When I was brushing out all the tangles, I added a few drops of my best perfume! She looks AND smells pretty now.”

“Stop talking about me like I’m not here,” Catra growled.

Adora laughed and leaned down, kissing Catra on the forehead.

“Soooo…what happened? Tell me everything. Also, where’s Bow?” Glimmer said.

Adora told them what transpired this morning with the ritual and entering Shen’s consciousness. She covered the basics of that experience, not really going into detail of what she witnessed in Shen’s psyche, much of it being too personal. She continued with how she created an identical heart rune and placed it on Shen’s chest, banishing the demon. How Shen’s tattoos vanished, the scar receded, and that he now has a heart rune of his own, much like Adora. She finished with coming back to Bright Moon and how Bow went to find Shen a place to stay.

“So, let me get this straight, Adora. I give you permission to go do something dangerous and you basically end up giving your heart to some random guy?” Catra accused. 

“Catra…” Adora started.

“Ha, got ya!” Catra said with a wicked grin. “Had to get you back for making fun of me. Sounds like you did an incredibly brave thing. Stupid, but brave; your usual style.”

Adora beamed down at her.

“I should be going.” Glimmer said, then leaning toward Catra, pointing at her hair. “Oh, and _that_ was for Bow.”

Catra leered back.

“Wait, Glimmer,” Adora said, catching her. “There is something else.”

Glimmer stood and looked at Adora, curious. “Yes?”

“Madame Razz wanted me to ask you if you could visit her, at her place in the Whispering Woods. She has something to tell you.”

Glimmer’s curiosity increased; up until now, Madame Razz has only been interested in Adora.

“Please don’t ask me what it’s about, she won’t tell me, but knowing her and what we have seen her do, it must be important.” Adora continued.

Glimmer nodded. “Yeah, I’ll go see her after I catch up with Bow and get the new guy situated.”

Adora and Catra watched Glimmer go, then Adora sat next to Catra and smiled.

“Oh, Catra, you poor thing.” Adora chuckled, starting to undo the ribbons. “When are you going to learn to be nice? I think you might have gotten what you deserved.”

“I am nice now! Did I tell you Lonnie and I made up yesterday?” Catra said, brightly.

“Wow, that only took a year... but yeah, that’s good. Lonnie is a good person and she is like our sister, I’m proud of you.” Adora said, pulling out more ribbons.

“So... I guess you expect me to be nice to this new guy, Shen, hmm?” Catra asked.

“Yes, Catra, you have to be nice. I’m not going into detail of what I saw him go through when I was in his head, but I can assure you, it makes what we went through in the Fright Zone seem like fun times. He is a good person and we are going to need his help.” Adora explained.

Catra didn’t look happy. “I owe him one for putting me in this bed. Can’t I bite him, just a little?”

* * *

Glimmer teleported outside of Madame Razz’s cottage, unsure about what she was getting herself into. It was mid-afternoon by the time she got there. Dealing with Bow and Shen’s room situation had taken a while. Adora said she wanted him close, so Glimmer had to do some finagling, moving a high-ranking guard officer to another tower so Shen could have a room right down the hall. Being the Queen had its perks.

She was still a little unsure about Shen. He seemed like a nice person and all, but she kept remembering the darkness and pain in him when she interrogated him. She also remembered the fact that he turned into a monster, a monster capable of catching her and making her glitch. A monster that threatened to eat her.

 _Adora said he had good in him, and I trust her. She also said we should trust Catra, and that worked out in the end. Catra has her rough edges, but she is now one of my best friends. Maybe after a while, this Shen guy will turn out great._ she thought to herself.

Glimmer pushed thoughts of Shen out of her head as she entered Madame Razz’s cottage.

“Hello? Madame Razz? Anyone here?” She called.

There was no response.

“Okay, I guess she’s out with Swift Wind. I’ll just wait here.” She said to herself, a little nervously.

Glimmer started looking around, taking in the strange old woman’s abode. The bed and candles Adora mentioned were gone. It was a pretty bare-bones place; stone floor and walls, a large stove in the corner. Some vase-like pots sat on stone protrusions in the wall. There was an odd assortment of other junk, including what looked like a monster skull with five eye sockets.

“Ewww!” Glimmer exclaimed upon seeing it.

There were quite a few objects she recognized, such as First One’s ration boxes, which, after looking into them, appeared mostly to be sugar.

“At her age she should be laying off the sugar.” Glimmer commented to herself.

Looking up, she saw an orange bottle with a stopper and next to it, a keepsake box high above her.

Now, Glimmer was a lot of things; great friend, excellent girlfriend to Bow, stubborn yet fair Queen, but there was another thing she excelled at.... and that was being nosy.

 _Hmmm…can’t hurt to take a peek._ She thought to herself.

Teleporting up on a stone ledge near the box, Glimmer lifted it up and teleported down. She sat on a lower stone ledge and placed the box on her lap. She opened the box, but there was nothing inside.

“Humph. Boring!” She exclaimed.

She slammed the box closed and was about to teleport it back up to the shelf when she felt the box seize her. She sat, frozen in place on the stone ledge, blank-eyed.

Glimmer started having a vision.

* * *

She is standing on a large, green plain, a river snaking through it, she can see sharp, craggy mountains in the distance. There is something to this place. It has the feel of Etheria— old, mysterious and magical. It is also beautiful like Etheria; where Etheria’s beauty is radiant and bright, this beauty is harsher and rawer.

In the middle of the plain is a tiered city sitting on top of a large rock, the rock protruded up from the grassy plain. The city is composed of small buildings and huge towers. At the summit of the city stands a large domed building. The city is of a mostly uniform color, dark and light pinks.

Her attention is drawn to two figures standing nearby, a short-statured old woman holding a broom and a taller, younger woman.

She immediately recognizes the short old woman as Madame Razz, as she looks the same as she did the last time Glimmer had seen her. The other woman though... she has never seen her before.

She is twice the size as Razz, maybe as tall as Adora, and just as blond and beautiful. But where Adora’s beautiful face expresses kindness and compassion, this woman’s face exhibits arrogance and a hint of cruelty. Her hair is short and slicked back. She is wearing all black, a black jacket that shimmers like bird feathers with five silver buttons running up to a short collar. She wears tight black pants made of the same material. 

_Wait...isn’t that Shen’s jacket?_ Glimmer thinks.

Under the jacket she wears nothing, it is open just enough to expose a hint of cleavage, creating a very seductive appearance. On her feet, she wears slim, black, leather high-heeled boots, the tops running up to her knees. In her hand she holds an all-white staff, the top ending in a yellow, warm light. The light is the only thing appealing about the woman to Glimmer. 

The two women stand together gazing at the city; they seem to be arguing.

“Why have you come to Eternos, Razz? Why do you bother me? I have much work to complete back in the city, work you are keeping me from.” the taller woman says to Razz.

“It is about this work that I have come to speak to you, Zzar. Using the power of life, the power you were tasked to protect, to empower its opposite is not right. I worry for you, my sister.” Razz responds. She is not speaking in her usual third person and there is fear in her voice.

“Ha! Go back to your meddling on Etheria, Razz. That’s where you belong. There is a war going on, a war we’re losing. I am working on finding a way to beat our enemy, and if I have to twist my powers to accomplish it, so be it!” The taller woman, Zzar, declares with pure condescension in her voice.

“Our duty is not to get involved! We guide, we don’t steer the course! You are too intimately involved; you are too involved with HIM!” Razz accuses.

“Ah, yes, there it is. Maybe if you took a more appealing form like me, you could get a better hold on those you ‘guide’. Believe me, it’s _much_ easier.” Zzar smirks knowingly.

Razz shakes her head in disgust. “I didn’t want to do this, but the others tasked me with this job. I have been allowed to leave Etheria to complete it. I am to bring you back.”

“Try it and you will pay. You will see how much progress I have made in my work, _firsthand_!” Zarr threatens.

Razz doesn’t listen to the threat, and with a speed that belies her appearance, leaps forward and grabs Zzar by her jacket sleeve. Razz quickly raises her other hand, her forearm changing to blue, faceted skin, the broom transforming into a slender, star topped, black staff. Beams of rainbow light shoot down from the sky to the top of the staff, and the light grows.

Before Razz can do anything more, Zzar screams, slamming her own staff down. The top of her staff flashes with dreadful light. Zzar disappears, leaving the black jacket in Razz’s hands. A disembodied voice booms down from the sky.

“Razz, my sister, that was foolish. Leave now, I will let you. But know that your plans are known to me now. I will not come with you. Return, and I will destroy you.” Zzar says coldly, from above and all around.

Razz, still holding the jacket with a disappointed look on her face, slams her own staff down, disappearing.

* * *

The vision faded and Glimmer suddenly came back into herself. As she focused, she realized she was staring into two large, bespectacled eyes. Glimmer screamed and dropped the keepsake box, which hit the floor with a loud clatter.

It was Madame Razz, staring at her with a look of pure anger, a look she did not think the old woman was capable of.

“Boy, you’re in trouble.” Swift Wind commented from the doorway.

Madame Razz looked away from Glimmer to the box, and she held out her hand and lifted it, with magic, to its original resting place.

“I..I..I’m s— so sorry Madame Razz!” Glimmer cried, fearful of the look in the old woman’s eyes.

Madame Razz turned back to Glimmer and the anger vanished. She chuckled and patted Glimmer on the hand.

“Ah, you young people, always going places you’re not supposed to. Madame Razz should know better than to leave her things lying around, especially if she doesn’t want people poking their noses into them.”

“Wha…What was that I saw?” Glimmer asked, emboldened by Razz’s kindness.

Razz gave her a hard look. “Don’t push it dearie. _That story_ is not for you.”

Glimmer asked her no more on the subject, wisely deciding not to press her luck.

“Adora said you wanted to see me?” Glimmer asked tentatively.

“Yes, yes, Madame Razz does, young one,” Razz said. “The other night, when Madame Razz used her power, what did you see?”

Glimmer looked thoughtful. “I saw you transform into something, I was not sure what—”

“Not that part, concentrate on the other…” Razz said, soothingly.

“You raised your broom, which then turned into staff, a sorcerer’s staff, I think. There was a bright light at the top. It was like a star, only brighter. Like a star that was no longer far away, but near, with us.”

Glimmer paused and Madame Razz nodded sagely, asking her to continue.

“There were beams of light that came down from the sky. I couldn’t see exactly where they came from because it was raining. The beams collected on top of the staff and the light at the top grew brighter. Then you pointed the staff at the Demon-Heart, somehow binding it using ribbons of starlight and transforming it back in Shen.”

“Yes, yes. Did you feel anything, when you witnessed this power, this magic?” Razz asked, hopeful.

Glimmer concentrated on the memory; her brow furrowed. “Yes, kind of. The magic was... familiar. Like my connection with the Moonstone, only _bigger_ somehow.”

“As Madame Razz suspected,” Razz said, joy in her voice.

“What was it? It wasn’t like the power I gained from the Moonstone. Was it…was it some kind of Star Magic?” Glimmer asked.

Madame Razz smiled broadly. “Very close. It is the power of the universe, but yes, the Stars are a big part of it, for Stars are the source of life in the universe. Their light and energy warms everything around them, banishing the dark, the cold.”

Madame Razz suddenly held her broom upright, handle up, and Glimmer once again saw her forearm and hand transform, the broom becoming the staff with the Star at its top.

“This is the source of many of Madame Razz’s powers. It is also her ward, it is the Starstone.” She said, gesturing to the bright, glimmering light at the top. It pulsed with greater light when Madame Razz named it.

Glimmer looked at the light in awe. “Starstone... So are you a Princess like me?” She asked.

Madame Razz laughed, loud and bright. “Ha! when you put it like that, perhaps? A very old wrinkly Princess though.” She grinned.

Glimmer laughed with her, feeling much more comfortable with the strange old woman.

“So, what does this have to do with me?” Glimmer asked, already suspecting the answer.

“Oh, come now dearie, don’t be obtuse with Madame Razz!” Razz said playfully. “You can use this power too when you are far from Etheria, far from the Moonstone. I, Madame Razz, will help you.”

“How? I am an Etherian Princess, my power comes from the Moonstone. I know nothing about Universe or Star magic.” Glimmer said, plaintively.

“Yes, the power of the Moon... but where does that power come from? You have gained the Moon power, now look further, to the Stars.” Razz said, gazing deep into Glimmer’s eyes.

Glimmer thought on this, mulling the idea over in her head. The more she thought about it, the more appealing the idea seemed. _Learn more magic? Yes, please._ She thought.

“Okay, I am up for the challenge. Please teach me this magic, Madame Razz. Teach me to use the power of the Stars and Universe.” Glimmer asked confidently.

Madame Razz smiled. “Good, you’ve taken your first steps into a much larger world. Here, take Madame Razz’s staff.”

Razz handed the staff over to Glimmer who took it hesitantly, for she was afraid it would change back. It didn’t, it stayed the same— a long staff with the Star top; the Star flashed when she grasped it, as if a connection was made.

Holding the staff, Glimmer looked at Razz. “Okay, show me what to do.”

* * *

Adora and Bow strode down the hall, on their way to meet up with Shen in his new room. Now that Shen had time to settle down and collect himself and Adora had handled “her situation”, Adora was ready to talk. She was hoping Shen could shed some light on some of the mysteries that were surrounding her, and perhaps she could help him as well.

Adora had spent the rest of the day tending to Catra’s needs, giving everyone a break from dealing with her. Catra was a lot more pleasant with Adora and easier to manage, taking her sponge bath with limited growling and not biting when spoon-fed. Adora had tucked her in after lunch and had given the “special tonic” which made Catra a little silly, and thankfully, sleepy. She left Catra there, snoring away, but left the door cracked in case she woke and called for her. Adora would be just down the hall.

Bow and Adora knocked on the door, which was already partly open, and Shen called for them to enter. He was sitting at a small table, with two chairs, ready for them.

He was wearing dark gray pants and the black jacket Razz had given him, but he also wore a white collared shirt under the jacket and a pair of black leather ankle high boots on his feet. His long black hair was tied back in a loose ponytail. He looked relaxed, happy.

“Hello, friends. Come in,” he stated simply.

“Awww, you got rid of the bare chest and torso look.” Bow said, sadly. “I thought we were going to be bare torso buddies.” Bow sighed.

Shen looked down and laughed. “No, my friend, that’s not my style. Besides, if the two of us started running around like that, there would be a riot of admirers. No, your gorgeous torso is too much for Bright Moon alone.”

Adora stifled a giggle and saw Bow blush the brightest she had ever seen.

“Uh, wow, thanks buddy.” Bow stammered.

Then Adora saw it, a glimmer in Shen’s eye, it was mischief. He was messing with poor Bow.

 _Wow, he is coming around fast,_ Adora thought to herself. _I thought it would be a while before he began to shine its way back through his horrible experiences. He is pretty resilient._

Adora and Bow sat down across from Shen, Bow still blushing and smiling a little.

“Bow’s gorgeous torso aside, how are you settling in, Shen?” Adora asked.

Shen looked around at his room, it was spacious and bright, like all their rooms. A huge four-post bed sat in the middle, with a large vanity and mirror on one wall. The room was adorned with crystals, bell pull, tea nook, skylights and…

“I like it very much, but I have one question. The waterfall.... is it for bathing?” asked Shen.

“That’s what I thought when I first started living here!” Adora laughed.

“Sure man, you could use it like that, but I mean, there _is_ a large bathtub right in the corner too.” Bow said helpfully.

Shen looked at it. “I see...No, I think I’ll use the waterfall. It looks faster.”

Adora saw Bow shrug and then she turned to Shen; she was ready to start.

“So, Shen, are you ready? I don’t really want this to be like an interrogation, so feel free to ask me anything. Just know that I have a _lot_ of questions for you.” Adora said.

“No, it’s fine. My questions can wait. Go ahead.” He said pleasantly.

“Where are you from? I mean, I’m not sure anyone went over that with you. What planet are you from? You mentioned to Glimmer that it is very dark.” Adora began.

“My planet is call Shen’Dar-oom and when compared to Etheria, yes, it’s very dark.” he said simply.

Bow looked thoughtful. “I remember you said ‘Shen’ basically means ‘dark’, or ‘of dark’. What does the rest of the word mean?” He asked.

“Dar-Oom is day, so it’s basically called ‘dark-day’ or ‘Night’, a name it shares with that particular daily cycle.” Shen replied.

“Is your planet far from a star or something? Is that why it’s dark? Is it far from Etheria?” Bow continued, curious now.

Shen had a distant look on his face. “No, no star is near it. There are no stars anywhere, though I wish there were, for I see they are beautiful. There is nothing but the darkness and the Set’Heth-un’dar, for my planet does not reside in this universe. We reside someplace different entirely.”

“Like another dimension?” Adora asked.

Shen thought on this, his brow furrowed. “Not really sure about this word ‘dimension’, but if it fits the description I gave, then it must be so.”

Adora suddenly thought about what Entrapta said to her, how the planet Twilight was once a moon to a planet called Eternia and how it must have disappeared somewhere else. She suddenly felt a bone-chilling sensation in her body.

As if summoned by name or thought, Entrapta suddenly burst through the door.

“AH HA!” she yelled, running straight to Bow.

“Entrapta, how did you find me—” Bow started, then yelled as Entrapta lifted him bodily off his chair with one of her ponytails. With the other ponytail she rummaged through his pocket, looking for something.

“Hey! Watch it, you can’t touch me ther…ahhh!” Bow screamed. “I’m going to have to tell Glimmer about this!”

Entrapta found what she was looking for, his data pad, and placed Bow back down in his seat. She turned the data pad on then looked at Bow, confused.

“Bow, this device works! Why haven’t been responding to me?” She asked sadly.

“Entrapta, I wanted to, but we have been extremely busy here. Let me explain.” Bow said, filling in Entrapta on the past two days. Entrapta absorbed it all with her photographic memory.

“WOW! Fascinating! Did you get any samples of this ‘Demon-Heart’? Where is this Shen guy? Maybe I can get a sample from him.” She stated gleefully.

“No, Entrapta, the Demon-Heart is gone. Be calm for this next part, please?” Adora asked.

“Okayyy…I promise.” She replied, the glee still there but a little less mad.

“So, I want to introduce you to someone. This is Shen. Please don’t take samples of him.” Adora said, gesturing to Shen across from her. “Shen, this is Entrapta. She is our friend, science expert and genius. She might be intense, but she won’t hurt you...I hope.” Adora stated, a little unsure.

Entrapta lifted herself up and over to Shen using her ponytails, landing next to him. She began to take out instruments from her various pockets but stopped herself and put them back. She then held out her hand.

“Hi, my name is Entrapta.” She introduced herself, slowly and calmly for once.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Shen.” He replied, shaking her hand. Shen smiled, charmed by this new acquaintance.

“We’re just asking Shen a few questions, trying to answer a few mysteries. We were just talking about where he is from— it sounded like another dimension.” Adora explained.

“Oohhh…my kind of conversation,” Entrapta stated, to no one’s surprise. “Tell me!”

Shen described the place he was from; it was a short description for there was only darkness, the glowing orb of the Set’Heth-un’dar and his planet. He described how he was able to enter their galaxy using the energy the Shen'Aan-war had taken from She-Ra when they explored the mysterious temple on Twilight.

“So that is what I felt, when I put the black crystal into the altar and spoke the command ‘Masters of the Universe.’ It was this Shen’Aan-war somehow taking hold of me. Your fath—” Adora said, breaking off at the last part.

Shen looked at Adora in her hesitation. “Yes, Adora. My father. He is very powerful. He was able to share the energy he stole with our sorcerer caste, the Death-Binders, who were then able to create a tether to this universe. Using the tether, they opened a small passage for me to enter. They also imprinted some of your energy on the Other. That is how I found you across space.” Shen explained.

“WOW!” Entrapta said. “I really have to learn more about this magic stuff, it’s SO FASCINATING!!” Entrapta exclaimed.

“I don’t think you want to know about the magic I’m familiar with, my new friend.” Shen looked at Entrapta.

“Ohhh…friends? We’re friends now? Yayyyy!” Entrapta beamed, clapping her hands.

“Okay guys, let's slow down here. There are a lot of things Shen has said that I have questions about. Let’s not get into magic yet.” Adora said, trying to get a handle on the conversation. “Let’s back up a little. This ‘glowing orb’, you say it’s called the Set’Heth-un’dar. The way you talk about it makes me think it’s the one I’ve seen in my nightmares.” Adora stated.

“Yes, that would be a place to see it. The Set’Heth-un’dar is the only source of light for our world, it lights what we call ‘day’... although, after being on this planet and feeling your sun, I don’t think there really ever was a ‘day’ on Shen’Dar-oom.” Shen said sadly.

“What is it, a moon? A dim sun?” Adora asked, already feeling that she was neither.

“No, it’s not. It is a power— The sole source of power for the Death-Binders— and also augments the Shen’Aan-war’s already incredible might. It is huge and some say it is sentient, for it seems to maliciously gaze down on us. Its name, Set’Heth-un’dar, means ‘Dead God’s Eye’, but it is also called the ‘Deathstone’.”

“Deathstone?” Adora said, in a horrified whisper. She looked at the window, seeing the Moonstone glowing in the distance.

Shen turned, looking at what she was seeing. “Yes, much like the Moonstone, but its power is in complete opposition to what the Moonstone represents.”

They were all silent for a moment, feeling a chill in spite of the afternoon light.

“Hey, I just remembered why I came! You guys distracted me!” Entrapta yelled suddenly, making everyone jump.

Entrapta reached into her pocket to pull out a data pad of her own. She turned it on, pressed a few buttons and turned it so everyone could see.

“Hordak and I have been digging through the data we downloaded from the Velvet Glove, more than a THOUSAND years’ worth of data! This is a video recording Hordak found, from almost one thousand years ago. It is from a ship in Horde Prime’s feet as they approach the planet Eternia— is the name of the planet we suspect Twilight used to orbit as its moon. On the labels of the old star chart we found, we suspect Twilight is the moon called Dark Moon. There is another moon called Light Moon; from the video you are watching, it appears to have been destroyed.” Entrapta said, in full hyper mode.

They watched as the fleet approached the planet and saw two orbiting moons, one moon sending solar light to the other, light to dark. Then, the dark explosion on the dark moon, the beam of darkness creeping back to the light moon, imploding the light moon and creating the horrible orb. Then, the orb sucking in Eternia and disappearing.

Entrapta turned off the data pad and put it away.

“Hordak and I suspected it was magic which destroyed Light Moon and created the portal which drew Eternia to somewhere else, perhaps another dimension like Despondos. Neither I nor Hordak have experience with such things, so I tried reaching a sorcerer like Micah, but he always ignores me. I’ve been trying to reach Bow to talk to Glimmer, but he’s been ignoring me too.” Entrapta said, pouting.

“That orb at the end was definitely the Set’Heth-un’dar. I would recognize it anywhere. What we just witnessed must have been what my people refer to as ’The Fall’, which is when our planet entered the dark dimension and started its new life under the dark gaze of the Set’Heth-un’dar. I do not know what else I witnessed— the two moons and the dark beam, the destruction of the one to create the Set’Heth-un’dar.” Shen said, apologetically.

“So, logically, your planet, Shen’Dar-oom, must be Eternia, the planet referenced by so many First One’s texts as possibly being the homeworld of the First One’s.” Bow said, awe in his voice.

Adora turned to Shen, realization on her face. “You’re a First One?” she whispered.

Shen shrugged. “I have heard of neither Eternia nor First Ones. The people who live on my planet are varied and diverse, much like Etheria. They all have their own different names, but we are all the Set’Heth-un’dar Sho-heim, or ‘Children of the Dead God’s Eye’.”

“Shen, I am a First One. I was brought to this planet by a First One’s hologram named Light Hope. Light Hope opened a portal from wherever the First Ones reside and brought me to Etheria. Does that mean I’m from this planet, Shen’Dar-oom?” Adora asked solemnly.

Shen shrugged again. “I do not know, although it would please me greatly if we were both of the same people. If you did come from my world, then this Light Hope did you a huge favor.”

“There is no certainty that you did come from Shen’Dar-oom, Adora. According to some of the records Hordak and I found, the First Ones had outposts and planets all over the universe, Eternia was just one of many.” Entrapta said.

Bow decided to change the subject. “We are not going to find out anything going down that path. Let’s go back to this Shen-am-war or whatever, Shen’s father, and his plans for taking over this universe. What kind of foe are we talking about?” He asked.

“The Shen’Aan-war is, by himself, very powerful. He has a whole cabal of Death-Binders, sorcerers who can use deadly magic. They are a truly terrible foe to face, especially from a distance. Then there is his elite guard, his Shen’Sho-heim. I grew up around them and they trained me in combat, but don’t let my poor representation of their skill fool you— they are deadly armored warriors. There are other various soldiers and agents in his empire, but the most dreaded are the Szi’th, the reanimated dead army. They are legion.” Shen said.

Adora remembered the shambling pale figures she saw in Shen’s memory; it gave her another chill. She was finding that this new enemy was truly terrible.

“While I was in the Resistance, before I was taken by my father’s men and turned into a monster, I heard rumors of work being done in space using old ships that came with us during The Fall. I do not know the extent of this work. I went on many missions with the rebels to sabotage my father’s designs, and there were many places where we found raw materials that were intended to be used elsewhere. My guess at the time was that they were intended for the project in orbit around the planet.”

“Perhaps they are building ships?” Bow asked.

Shen only shrugged again. “I’m sorry, I don’t know. I do not have all the answers.”

“No, Shen, thank you. This is good stuff. Back to your fath…the Shen’Aan-war’s plans.” Adora said, sheepishly.

“Adora, I do not care if you refer to the Shen’Aan-war as my father. Unfortunately, he is. It’s not like you’re hiding a secret from me.” Shen said, smiling kindly.

Adora smiled back. “What do you think his next move will be? Does he know you failed in your mission?”

“Perhaps. I do not know if he knows or cares what happened with me. He will not wait though; he is hungry to come here and conquer. He has been waiting a very, _very_ long time. The Death-Binders will use their power in combination with the tether’ they created to create a better pathway to this universe. Then, they will come through, and with their combined power, make an even bigger path, big enough for the Shen’Aan-war’s entire army to come through. They are probably even now on the planet you call Twilight.” Shen said, solemnly.

Adora could feel the dread grow inside her; only a year after Horde Prime, they already have to deal with another deadly enemy.

“So, back to your father, the Shen’Aan-war. Tell me more about him.” Adora asked Shen.

“Hmmm... to start off with, he is a horrible father.” Shen said, eliciting a small laugh from his friends. “He is the most powerful being on my planet, a powerful warrior and sorcerer, much like She-Ra.”

“So, he is your leader, what is his title? We are already familiar with ‘Shen’, so does Aan-war mean king? Dark King or something?” Bow asked.

“No, but that is a good guess, Bow. Aan-war is our word for what he was called before The Fall. You see, he was already a powerful warrior before our planet was drawn into the dark place. After The Fall, his already considerable power was augmented by the Set’Heth-un’dar.” Shen replied.

“So, what does Aan-war mean then?” Bow continued.

“Hmmm… the translation is funny. It is two words which basically mean the same thing.” Shen replied.

“Like a synonym?” Bow added, helpfully.

“Yes, that’s the word! When they are used in combination it’s quite a silly title, really.” Shen said, chuckling.

“Just spit it out!!” Entrapta yelled, impatient as ever.

“He-Man” Shen said, simply.


End file.
